Indonesia 0-0 China (first half): Indonesia squanders chances

What did coach Kluivert say before Indonesia's crucial match against China?

At 8:45 p.m. on June 5, Indonesia will enter a crucial match with China. Currently, the team from the archipelago has 9 points, 3 more than China. If they win this match, coach Kluivert's team will almost certainly have a ticket to the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. Meanwhile, China must also win to avoid being eliminated.

Speaking before the match, coach Patrick Kluivert highly appreciated China and admitted that Indonesia would not have an easy match. The Dutch strategist said: “China is a quality team, with a good system.

They are a direct team, always aggressive and trying to press in tight spaces. So we need to be really careful against them. We need to be 100% focused and not think that this is an easy game.

Personally, I never underestimate any opponent. In the last training session, we did not have much time to prepare, but this time, everything was better. I feel satisfied with that."

Coach Kluivert also emphasized the desire to win of the entire Indonesian team. He added: “What we have practiced in the past days will be shown on the field. I always believe in the players. I am very confident that the players will execute the tactics well to achieve the best results. Hopefully, the Bung Karno Stadium will be full of spectators. Please come to the stadium and cheer for the home team to win.”

Indonesia need to overcome the curse of not winning against China since 1987. They need to pay close attention to the lesson after the 1-2 defeat to China in the first leg last October.

In this match, Garuda (nickname of the Indonesian team) will be without 5 players: Sandy Walsh, Ragnar Oratmagoen (injured), Eliano Reijnders (family matter), Maarten Paes and Marselino Ferdinan (suspended). However, they are still formidable with a European-class naturalized force.

Chinese coach makes strong statement in face of risk of being eliminated by Indonesia

Before the final two matches in Group C of the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, China is at the bottom of the table with 6 points, 3 points behind the 4th-placed team, Indonesia. Therefore, if they fail in their away match at Bung Karno Stadium at 8:45 p.m. tonight (June 5), the team from the country of a billion people will be officially eliminated.

This created tremendous pressure for coach Branko Ivankovic. Not only that, the entire Chinese team also had to play under the witness of nearly 80,000 Indonesian fans at Bung Karno Stadium.

Speaking at a press conference, the Croatian coach said: “We acknowledge the tremendous pressure when playing on Indonesia’s field. However, the whole team is prepared to turn the pressure into motivation.

Indonesia has strengthened its squad by naturalizing a number of players. This has caused us many difficulties. The whole team needs to maintain focus and avoid distractions.”

During this training camp, China introduced a series of new faces such as Hu Hetao, Wang Yudong and Liu Chengyu, as well as two naturalized players Serginho and Yang Mingyang. Most of them have not even made 4 appearances for the national team.

Speaking about the new additions, coach Branko Ivankovic shared: “We open the door for any player to wear the Chinese national team shirt. I have selected the squad very carefully. I hope they will prove their worth and create a big surprise in the match against Indonesia.”

The 71-year-old coach also showed his determination in the context of his team being pushed into a corner. He added: “The two upcoming matches against Indonesia and Bahrain are decisive for us. It will decide where the team will go.

All three teams, Indonesia, China and Bahrain, are very competitive. Indonesia is very strong but I hope China will be lucky enough to get a ticket to the next round."

Striker Zhang Yuning also showed great determination: “To win, I will try my best on the field. Other than winning, everything else is meaningless to the Chinese team.”

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/indonesia-0-0-trung-quoc-hiep-1-indonesia-phung-phi-co-hoi-20250605202903458.htm