2026 President's Cup: Persebaya Secures Semifinal Ticket, Persija Has Not Surrendered

Persebaya Surabaya became the first team from Group B to secure a semi-final ticket for the 2026 President's Cup, after defeating PSMS Medan 1-0 at Gelora Bung Tomo (GBT) Stadium, Surabaya, on Wednesday evening 29 July. Meanwhile, Persija Jakarta kept their qualification hopes alive after holding Port FC to a 2-2 draw.

This victory over PSMS cemented Bajol Ijo at the top of the temporary Group B standings with six points collected from two matches. On the other hand, Persija's draw against Port FC means the race for the remaining single semi-final slot will remain wide open until the final round of group stage matches.

Facing Persebaya, PSMS put up fierce resistance despite being a Liga 2 side. The Ayam Kinantan squad showed no inferiority complex even against a Super League team playing in front of their own home supporters.

Irfan Jauhari, Daniel Barrow, and Raihan Utama repeatedly forced Persebaya's backline marshalled by Yuran Fernandes to work under heavy pressure.

On the home side, Ramadhan Sananta, Miguel Pereira, and Ramalho attempted to break down PSMS defence, yet chance after chance went unconverted.

Persebaya finally broke the deadlock in first half injury time. Starting from Ramalho's corner kick, Yuran Fernandes won an aerial duel before heading the ball into PSMS net to put Persebaya ahead 1-0.

As the second half began, head coach Bernardo Tavares made a drastic tactical change by bringing on seven players all at once: Risto Mitrevski, Francisco Rivera, Malik Risaldi, Tony Firmansyah, Arief Catur, M Baihaqqi, and Jefferson Silva.

PSMS only made two substitutions, introducing Rangga Muslim and Philerson. Even so, the visiting side still managed to apply consistent pressure on Persebaya's defence.

Both Philerson and Rangga Muslim had clear opportunities to equalise, but all their attempts were successfully neutralised by the Bajol Ijo backline.

This win officially confirmed Persebaya's progression to the semi-final round with six points. In contrast, PSMS now sits at the bottom of the group table after suffering two consecutive defeats.

In the other Group B fixture, Persija Jakarta showed unyielding fighting spirit against Port FC. The Macan Kemayoran side found themselves two goals down early, following strikes from Peeradol Chamrasamee in the 18th minute and Issam Abdallah in the 40th minute.

Persija pulled a goal back just one minute later through Arlyansyah Abdulmanan before half time. As the second half progressed, Stjepan Loncar scored the equaliser in the 52nd minute to force the match to finish 2-2.

This result places Port FC in second place of the temporary Group B standings with four points, while Persija occupies third position with one point. Macan Kemayoran still retains a chance to reach the semi-finals, though they are required to secure a full win against PSMS Medan in their final group match while also relying on favourable results from the other concurrent fixture.

The decisive final Group B matches will be held on Saturday 1 August. Persebaya will face Port FC at Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium at 19.30 WIB, while Persija Jakarta is scheduled to take on PSMS Medan at the same venue at 15.30 WIB earlier that day.