Indonesian fans shocked by team list, what are the chances of attending World Cup 2026?

Does the Indonesian national team have an excess of central defenders, or is coach Patrick Kluivert missing out on talent?

"It's confusing, where is Bagott?", one netizen expressed and was quoted by CNN Indonesia . "Maybe Baggott is not suitable for coach Patrick Kluivert's tactics or is there something else?", another fan asked on social media platforms, after the list of 32 players of the Indonesian team was announced on May 18.

Coach Patrick Kluivert raises questions about the newly announced Indonesian team list

Photo: Reuters

Elkan Baggott currently plays for Blackpool FC in League One (England's third tier). The 22-year-old centre-back has made a total of 21 appearances in the 2024-2025 season.

After being absent from the Indonesian national team during the competition in March, Baggott was expected to return and he also arrived in Bali, where the national team of thousands of islands is preparing to gather from May 26, waiting to join the team. However, the star's name was not on the call-up list, causing many questions for Indonesian fans.

Instead, coach Patrick Kluivert called up central defenders Jay Idzes, Jordi Amat, Rizky Ridho, Justin Hubner and Mees Hilgers. Striker Stefano Lilipaly was also recalled, while star Ragnar Oratmangoen was officially absent. In addition, the appearance of defender Asnawi Mangkualam also attracted attention, as this was the player's return to the team after being eliminated in March.

The rest of the Indonesian team still retains key players and has a majority of naturalized players such as striker Ole Romeny, who scored both goals in two matches in March, including a 1-5 loss to Australia and a 1-0 win over Bahrain. Alongside him are midfielders Marselino Ferdinan, Thom Haye, Ivar Jenner, and attacking stars Rafael Struick, Joey Pelupessy, Eliano Reijnders, etc.

In the upcoming competition, the Indonesian team will play the last two matches in Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, including against the Chinese team (home, at 8:45 p.m. on June 5) and the Japanese team (away, at 5:35 p.m. on June 10).

The Indonesian team (red shirts) still hopes to find a chance to attend the 2026 World Cup

Photo: Reuters

These are two extremely crucial matches for coach Patrick Kluivert and his team, with the goal of winning the second place in the group to go straight to the finals (competing with the Australian team, while the Japanese team has already secured a ticket).

However, this goal seems extremely difficult although there is still a chance, because the Indonesian team is required to win the remaining 2 matches, and also depends on the results of competitors such as Australia and Saudi Arabia, who are ranked above.

In Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, Indonesia is ranked 4th with 9 points, 1 point behind Saudi Arabia (3rd place) and 4 points behind Australia (2nd place). Japan, the top team with 20 points, has won a ticket to the 2026 World Cup. Meanwhile, the bottom two teams, Bahrain and China, both have 6 points.

Therefore, the most likely goal of the Indonesian team is to maintain 3rd or 4th place in the group, to enter the 4th qualifying round of the Asian region to continue fighting for the goal of winning a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

The 2026 World Cup qualifiers, with Asia having 8.5 places in the final round. Of these, 6 teams were determined after the 3rd qualifying round (including the 2 teams ranked first and second in 3 groups), currently Iran (Group A) and Japan (Group C) have secured tickets. The matches in June will continue to determine the remaining 4 teams, including Uzbekistan (Group A) next, Korea and Jordan (Group B), and possibly Australia (Group C).

The remaining teams ranked 3rd and 4th in the Asian qualifiers (6 teams in total) are divided into 2 groups, with 3 teams in each group playing a round-robin at a centralized location. The top team in each group will win the remaining 2 official tickets to the 2026 World Cup. Meanwhile, the 2 runners-up will play a play-off match, with the winner continuing to the Intercontinental play-off round to compete for 2 wildcard tickets.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cdv-indonesia-soc-voi-danh-sach-doi-tuyen-co-hoi-du-world-cup-2026-ra-sao-185250518101650099.htm