The Indonesia national team has revived its and the country's hopes of reaching the final World Cup qualifying round next year after it thrashed Saudi Arabia 2-0 on Tuesday in a hard-fought victory.

Marselino Ferdinan struck twice against the Herve Renard-coached Saudis to secure his country's first win in the third phase of the continent's qualifiers, boosting their hopes of an appearance at the finals in North America.

Headers from Koki Ogawa and Ko Itakura put runaway group leaders Japan two goals up at half time before Lin Liangming pulled one back for China early in the second half.

Victories over Indonesia and Bahrain have seen the Chinese overcome a run of three losses at the start of the third phase of Asia's preliminaries to rekindle dreams of a first World Cup appearance since their debut at the 2002 finals.

Indonesia were handed a 4-0 thrashing by their visitors in front of a packed Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta on Friday to remain on three points from five games in the region's qualifiers for the 2026 finals.

Defeat consigned Indonesia to the bottom spot in the group of six, and three points off a coveted top-four spot.

Indonesia are clear underdogs for Friday's match, sitting in fifth out of six teams in their qualifying group, but they have earned spirited draws against Australia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Indonesia is in the decisive third round of Asian qualifying as they attempt to reach the 2026 World Cup in North America.

The 39-year-old Sporting Lisbon coach quickly emerged as the hot favorite for the Old Trafford job after Erik ten Hag was sacked on Monday following a terrible start to the season.

To many, the Oviedo-born Spaniard is the greatest driver of his generation, a man with an unequalled talent for speed and racing, but also someone with a knack of choosing to move to the wrong team at the wrong moment in his career.

With golf sustaining its international growth, according to the latest data by the R&A, the multiple initiatives led by the PGA Tour are beginning to bear fruit in recognizing and accelerating the careers of aspiring young stars from Asia. 

The Paris Games were widely seen as a triumph of planning and execution and set a high bar for LA when it lights the Olympic flame in Southern California in four years' time

Bahrain are scheduled to play Indonesia away in March in the decisive third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in North America.

"The association will submit a request to remove the match from Indonesia to preserve the safety of the team," it said in a statement posted to X on Wednesday.

The Bahrain Soccer Association (BFA) issued statements in Arabic and English on its Instagram account @bahrainfa on Wednesday condemning cyber-attacks allegedly launched by Indonesian soccer fans on the BFA and the Bahraini players.

The 2-1 defeat against China on Tuesday put Indonesia in fifth place of the third round of the 2026 World Cup Asian Group C qualifiers with three points.

The Japanese had won nine consecutive World Cup qualifiers without conceding but Shogo Taniguchi put Lewis Miller's low cross into his own goal in the 58th minute to give the Socceroos an unexpected lead.

Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray were dubbed the "Big Four" during a period of dominance when they won a combined 69 Grand Slam titles and were involved in some of the most memorable matches of the last two decades.

The Indonesian national soccer team failed to hold on to a one-goal lead after a controversial second-half equalizer from Bahraini winger Mohamed Mahroon in a match held at the National Bahrain Stadium in Riffa, Bahrain, on Thursday evening.

The 38-year-old Spaniard is set to end his two decades as a professional with 92 titles and prize money alone of $135 million, his status long since secured as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Real Madrid's revamp of its historic Santiago Bernabeu stadium has become a problem for the Spanish football club, with locals protesting against noise from concerts and the permanent construction works.

Como, with two wins in seven games, returned to Serie A after a 21-year absence this season.

Introduced as the "Greatest Of All Time" as he walked onto the court, he received a rapturous welcome from the packed stadium.

The France international was provisionally suspended by Italy's national anti-doping organisation (NADO Italia) in September 2023 after testing positive for DHEA - a banned substance that raises levels of testosterone.

Ohtani-mania was on full display hours before a recent game at the scenic ballpark in Los Angeles, with fans freshly off their flights from Japan heaping praise on their country's hero.

An increasingly packed soccer calendar has been a concern among a growing number of players and managers, with a report by global players' union FIFPRO said some players get only 12 percent of the year to rest.

JebreeetMedia has been called an important driver for Indonesian sports, with the firm collaborating with various stakeholders, including the Sports and Youth Ministry on several occasions.