The South Asian nation is among the world’s most populous and is mad for football, but qualifying for the World Cup is a big ask

There’s a simple change of scenery, and then there’s John Herdman’s latest coaching move.

The 50-year-old has taken quite a jump from Canada, a huge country where soccer is not the biggest sport, to Indonesia, a huge country where it definitely is. If he can repeat his 2022 heroics for 2030, he will be a hero to a nation of 280 million people who are just desperate to return to the global stage. Canada had a gap of 36 years between their first and second World Cup appearances. If the new coach in Jakarta is successful next time, then what will be a 92-year wait would come to an end.