FFive days after Pope Francis filled Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Australia will arrive at the same arena seeking redemption to get back on track for North America and the 2026 World Cup. The Socceroos made a horror start to the third round of Asian qualifying last week, suffering a defeat at home to Bahrain on the same day that 100,000 people flocked to Indonesia’s capital to see the head of the Catholic Church.

Graham Arnold may be able to point to his team’s 4-0 win over Indonesia at the Asian Cup just seven months ago, but this is a very different story. White CloudMany in the world’s most populous country consider the current team to be their best ever and have serious ambitions of finishing in the top four of Group C.

The country’s outgoing president, Joko Widodo, has done much to move the capital to Borneo, but the country’s spiritual football home will always be Jakarta. The Australians’ welcome will be a little less warm than the Pope’s – and a lot louder too. Indonesia is at this stage for the first time since World Cup qualifying began, but is not here to fill the numbers.

One number that now seems to be made up is a FIFA ranking of 133, meaning that on paper they are the weakest of the six teams and 17th out of the remaining 18 nations. But on the GBK pitch they are keen to show that their true level is much higher.

Saudi Arabia would agree. Hours after Bahrain took all three points on the Gold Coast, Roberto Mancini looked hot and bothered after Indonesia left Jeddah with a 1-1 draw. The result prevented Australia’s likely rivals for the second automatic qualification spot from taking an early two-point lead and Arnold would have applauded Indonesia’s performance in Saudi Arabia.

There is cause for concern, however. Mancini’s side missed a last-minute penalty and created more chances, but the Indonesian side are much more solid defensively than in the past and Venezia’s centre-back Jay Idzes is a rock – the Serie A star has only worn the captain’s armband for his fourth game and is developing into a true leader in defence. There is still a lack of penetration in attack but the game is getting better and had there been better decision-making in the final third, all three points could have been brought back to Southeast Asia.

There have been jabs about how Asian this team is; Mancini compared Indonesia’s European experience to the lack of European experience in his own team. In March, Vietnamese defender Do Duy Manh said playing against Indonesia was like playing against the Netherlands. Nine of the 11 players who took to the field at the King Abdullah Sports City were born in Europe and naturalized because of their Indonesian ancestry.

Goalkeeper Martin Paes is one of the youngest, along with Idzes. The former Netherlands U21 international, who plays for Dallas in the MLS, conceded a penalty on his debut but saved it and made a number of other important saves.

Paes did not play against Australia in the Asian Cup. Only three of the players who started in Jeddah last week did. It’s hard to believe, but Indonesia are now not that far behind Tuesday’s opponents in terms of European experience. The team is physically stronger than in the past and they press long and hard. It was notable that even in the heat and humidity of the Red Sea they managed to catch up late in the game and had two promising counterattacks in the final minutes. Fans and pundits, whose doubts about the naturalisation policy have evaporated with the improved results, would still like to have a top-class goalscorer. Then they would really be a threat.

Regardless, the team, with an average age of around 24, should continue to improve. Coach Shin Tae-yong is not only banking on foreign talent, but also on youth. The former Queensland Roar midfielder and assistant coach is not lacking in confidence either. Minutes after leading South Korea’s Seongnam to the Asian Champions League title in 2010, he called himself the “Asian Mourinho” – at the time, that was a huge compliment. He was the continent’s big up-and-coming coaching hope at the time, but it never quite happened. Now, however, he seems to have found his place in life and recently signed a contract extension until 2027.

His message this season is that Indonesia is not afraid of anyone and that, contrary to Australian accusations that Bahrain are blatantly wasting time and playing tactics, perhaps it will be the Socceroos who – faced with a confident team cheered on by a passionate crowd – will try to disrupt the flow of the game. The Pope left the Gelora Bung Karno full of hope. Australia will face a much tougher battle if they are to achieve the same.