Indonesian football boss defends Kluivert, makes 'strong' statement about chance to go to World Cup 2026

"2 matches decide the Indonesian team's move, we will go to the 2026 World Cup"

Mr. Erick Thohir reposted the list of 32 Indonesian players that coach Kluivert had just selected, along with a short but strong status on Instagram: "I would like to remind you that this is the list of Indonesian players who will face China and Japan in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia."

Coach Kluivert has yet to inspire confidence in Indonesian fans, despite a 1-0 victory over Bahrain in March.

Photo: Reuters

Previously, the press and some Indonesian fans criticized Coach Kluivert's decision to choose players as very confusing, when he left out the naturalized striker of Dutch origin Ragnar Oratmangoen despite being rumored to be ill. But he chose 35-year-old striker Stefano Lilipaly to return to the team after a very long absence. In the latest list of the Indonesian team, there is only 1 player who is on the team for the first time, goalkeeper Reza Arya.

This choice raised many questions, including the unfortunate absence of talented central defender Elkan Baggott, after the player had fully recovered from injury and had arrived in Bali to wait to join the team, according to CNN Indonesia .

However, PSSI President Erick Thohir maintained his absolute support for coach Kluivert, who helped the Indonesian team to an extremely important 1-0 victory over Bahrain in March, right after the shocking 1-5 loss to Australia.

"These are two matches that will decide the fate of the team, decide all our steps. We are very confident that we will bring Garuda (the nickname of the Indonesian team) to the 2026 World Cup," Mr. Erick Thohir emphasized about the list of the Indonesian team before two key matches with the Chinese and Japanese teams.

Indonesian fans are very passionate, they are willing to do everything to help their team win.

Photo: Reuters

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.

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).

If they win both matches, Indonesia will have a chance to directly qualify for the 2nd place in the group for the 2026 World Cup, but it will also depend on the results of competitors such as Australia and Saudi Arabia, who are ranked above them. The most likely goal for the Indonesian team is to maintain their current 4th place to enter the 4th qualifying round to continue fighting for the goal of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

Indonesian fans will get a 15% discount when coming to watch the match against China on June 5 in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Photo: Reuters

Currently, in the crucial match against China, Indonesian fans are competing for tickets to Gelora Bung Karno Stadium to support their team. In this match, Indonesia was punished by FIFA and had to cut the number of fans entering Gelora Bung Karno Stadium by 15% due to the incident of fans causing trouble and using inappropriate words in the match against Bahrain in March. With about 70,000 tickets remaining (Gelora Bung Karno Stadium has a maximum capacity of 77,193 spectators), PSSI quickly sold out these tickets in just the past few weekends.

"The Indonesian team hopes that with the enthusiastic support from the home crowd, they will have another victory against the Chinese team to keep their hopes alive in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. A draw or loss would be a disaster, and coach Kluivert could easily receive a storm of criticism like after the shocking 1-5 loss to Australia," CNN Indonesia said.

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/chu-tich-lien-doan-bong-da-indonesia-tuyen-bo-cung-ve-co-hoi-den-world-cup-2026-185250520083436187.htm