Coach John Herdman and the Pressing Puzzle: Why Indonesia Can Hardly Play Defensively Against Bangladesh

Gelora Bung Karno holds more than seventy thousand people, but the loudest noise before the Bangladesh match did not come from the stands. It came from a phone. On his YouTube channel, Justinus Lhaksana – known to fans as Coach Justin – sent a direct message to John Herdman. Don't play defensively again. Press Bangladesh from the first minute. The words sound like simple tactical advice, but they are actually a public verdict. They capture the frustration built up after a performance seen as passive, and turn the final group game into a referendum on the English coach's style. The context forces Indonesia to calculate. Group A is tight: Indonesia have 4 points, second behind Malaysia on goal difference. The remaining match against Bangladesh is not a formality; it is a de facto final to win the group and avoid tougher opponents in the next round. Indonesia almost need a big win to overtake Malaysia. That is why Coach Justin's rallying cry resonates with fans. He argues that Indonesia must close space, press to force mistakes in Bangladesh's half, and do so from the opening whistle instead of waiting for the game to unfold. But there is a gap between slogan and reality. High pressing is a principle, not a tactic. Anyone can shout it, but executing it requires coordination, fitness, and the ability to read situations. The VIVA article, which quotes only Coach Justin, offers no numbers. No xG, no PPDA, no pass completion, no average distance between lines. It is passionate opinion, not data. Let us be fair to Coach Justin. The arithmetic supports him. Indonesia need goals, many goals, and attacking is the fastest way to get them. If Malaysia also win big in the parallel match, goal difference becomes crucial. A team chasing the group lead cannot sit back and wait. That is why 'don't play defensively again' strikes a chord. Driven by a massive home crowd at Gelora Bung Karno, everything seems to support an early onslaught. Fans want to see their team dominate, not wait. But pressing from the first minute does not automatically become scoring chances. It only works when the team can win the ball in the opponent's final third and attack while the opponent is unbalanced. Otherwise, pressing just pushes the team high and turns the match into a meaningless chase. Coach Justin proposes a 4-2-3-1, with Mitchel Bakker – a natural left-back – pushed forward as a left-sided attacker. In theory, this creates numerical superiority around Bangladesh's box. But Bakker is not a striker. He can support attacks, yet when possession is lost, the space behind him is dangerously open. A counter-attacking team will target exactly that area. I have watched Indonesia for more than two years. When Bakker plays as a genuine wing-back, he reads the flank well. When he is dragged into a wide forward role in a back four, he loses his tactical anchor. The left channel becomes a doorway for opposition counters. That is a risk the VIVA analysis never mentions. The most important thing that Coach Justin and the attacking crowd overlook is that pressing only works when the team keeps a compact shape. He mentions discipline between the lines as a requirement, but he does not explain how to achieve it in a match where everyone is desperate to score. In reality, when a team presses too high, the distance between the defence and the goalkeeper stretches. One ball over the top leaves the entire backline exposed. Bangladesh do not need much possession to score; they need one moment. I have seen this happen not only to Indonesia but to many Southeast Asian teams. The favourite presses constantly, the opponent drops deep, and then one long ball tears the defensive structure apart. The first goal against you is born from over-excitement. Screaming 'press' from outside is easy; keeping discipline when the match heats up is the real test. Quality pressing comes from coordination, not from energy alone. Players must know when to set the trap, when to drop, when to narrow the midfield. The coach can direct from the sideline, but eleven men on the pitch must read the same book. That is why teams build pressing over months, not in one night before a decisive match. If Indonesia have never pressed the way Coach Justin describes, they are unlikely to do it well just because a YouTube pundit says so. There is also invisible pressure on every player. When a whole nation talks about a must-win-by-many match, young players often lose patience. They run more, attack more recklessly, and leave positions faster. Hasty decisions in the opponent's box usually end in a wild shot, then a counter-attack. Herdman must understand that the team's psychology is more fragile than any formation. The summer of 2026 taught me that football can stop, but people's hearts cannot. When a whole country lives through one match, what happens on the pitch is only the visible part. I hear news from the meeting room, but I write in the language of the stands. And the stands are screaming for a big win. Yet people who have worked in football for decades know that the stands can create atmosphere, but they cannot create goals. Goals come from structure, from recognising space, and from cold decisions amid the heat of the game. One thing all emotional analyses ignore is the opponent. Bangladesh are assumed to be weak, but no one asks how they will play. If Bangladesh drop into a low block, Indonesia's high press will have little space to exploit. They will hit a wall. If Bangladesh choose a direct, long-ball approach, pressing becomes meaningless because the ball is not held at the opponent's feet long enough. The irony is that the advice 'don't play defensively again' pushes Herdman into a corner. If he attacks and wins big, it is expected. If he attacks but concedes on the counter, he is called naive. If he is cautious and scores too few, everyone remembers that he defended again. That is a media trap that a seasoned coach must see before it closes. Also, let us be honest: the only source in the VIVA article is a YouTube channel. That is not wrong, but it is not enough. When a tactical analysis contains no statistics, when the competition name is wrong – 'FIFA ASEAN Cup' while the competition is run by AFF – and when a non-ASEAN team appears in an ASEAN group, readers have every right to question the accuracy of the whole story. If basic details are wrong, the tactical advice above should be treated with skepticism. There is another paradox: if Indonesia need a big win, pressing hard from the start may backfire. The opponent will drop deep and slow the game down, time passes with no goal. Anxiety rises, the shape stretches, and gaps appear. That is when quick counters deliver the decisive blow. Matches like that often see the favourite dominate but collapse in one moment of carelessness. I have watched stronger teams end up drawing or losing because they crumbled under home pressure. Football is a game of errors. The more you charge forward, the bigger your mistakes become. Herdman does not have to choose between cowardly defending and reckless attacking. He needs selective pressing, compact shape, using Bakker in the right role, and above all, not letting a YouTube channel pick his team. Southeast Asian football is often led by noise, and the noise is telling Indonesia to rush forward. But great teams do not win by shouting with the crowd; they win by keeping their breath in the storm. If Herdman chooses selective pressing, he may be criticised in the fifteenth minute when Indonesia have not scored. But if he pushes the team high just to please public opinion, he may pay for it with the qualification ticket itself. At 62, I no longer chase breaking news. I wait to see how people keep their word. And I am also waiting to see which promise Herdman keeps: the promise to the public or the promise to his own team. For a coach who has achieved miracles with youth teams, the right answer almost never lies in following the crowd. The only question worth asking now is not whether to press, but whether Herdman has the courage to write his own answer.