Checking different boxes will unlock different achievements.
Indonesia continue to go from strength to strength under coach Shin Tae-yong but their latest achievement may be their most significant yet.
Indonesia beat the Philippines 2-0 on Tuesday to advance to the third and final match of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Although the Dutch East Indies did play in the 1938 World Cup, they had never gone this far before – nearly 100 years ago, when the process of qualifying for football’s biggest stage was much less drawn out.
In fact, only two Asian teams had qualified at the time, but because Japan withdrew, the Dutch East Indies automatically qualified.
This time around, Indonesia had to work much harder just to reach the third round of the Asian qualifiers.
In fact, Indonesia were one of the lower-ranked nations that began their campaign in the first round in October last year, cruising through with a comfortable 12-0 aggregate win over Brunei Darussalam.
In the second round, luck of the draw favoured Indonesia.
Iraq were the clear favourites to win Group F, but Indonesia also faced familiar foes in Vietnam and the Philippines, so they always had a chance.
Matches between these Southeast Asian teams are often closely contested and, last time around, Vietnam was the region’s leader as the only ASEAN team to reach the third round of Asian qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, but the gap has narrowed significantly.
By comparison, other Southeast Asian hopefuls such as Thailand and Singapore always faced a tougher path to progress, facing traditional powerhouses South Korea and China, while Myanmar were almost certain to lose from the moment they were presented with the chance to face Japan, Syria and North Korea.
But for Indonesia, progress was a realistic goal.
In the end, it was narrowed down to two consecutive matches against Vietnam in March, which Indonesia won 1-0 and 3-0 respectively, ultimately resulting in Indonesia finishing second in the group, four points behind Vietnam.
Indonesia’s rise has continued since Singh took over in late 2019.
Earlier this year, they returned to the AFC Asian Cup for the first time since 2007 and made it into the knockout round for the first time.
In April, the U-23 team, also led by Singh, achieved an impressive fourth-place finish on their AFC U-23 Asian Cup debut, but then narrowly missed out on a place in the Olympics after losing in an inter-continental play-off against Guinea.
Last year, the U-23 team won gold at the Southeast Asian Games, the first time since the men’s football competition moved from senior to age-group competitions.
There may be even more joy to come at the end of 2024, when Indonesia will have a real chance to win their first ASEAN Championship after six disappointing runner-up finishes.
Of course, the biggest dream is to qualify for the World Cup.
Indonesia should be under no illusions: For now, the goal is more of a dream than a distinct possibility.
They face a much tougher test in the third round of Asian qualifiers, where the expansion of the World Cup field to 48 teams means that even with the eight automatic spots, and excluding the usual heavyweights like Japan, South Korea and Iran, a dozen or so teams have emerged as stronger contenders.
But progress comes in many forms, and it’s not all about competing in the next World Cup.
Competitive performance against superior opponents could also be a criterion.
The fact is, with how far Indonesia has already come and everything it has shown in recent years, it is definitely on the rise.