PSSI General Chairman Erick Thohir reportedly met with the Indonesian National Team coaching team led by Patrick Kluivert after the crushing 1-5 defeat to Australia.
In the meeting, Kluivert was accompanied by his assistants, Alex Pastoor, Denny Landzaat, and Gerald Vanenburg. Technical advisor Jordi Cruyff was also present.
“I met with the Indonesian National Team coaching team. I want to make sure that all coaches and players of the Indonesian National Team have the same spirit ahead of the match against Bahrain,” wrote Erick on his Instagram account.
“The Indonesian National Team must rise to maintain their hopes of appearing in the World Cup,” Erick added.
The defeat to Australia was a major blow for Indonesia, which is currently setting a big target to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals.
The negative result in Sydney has now dropped Indonesia to fourth place in the Group C standings with a collection of six points. Meanwhile, Australia is firmly in second place with 10 points.
Indonesia is in fourth place because it has a better goal productivity than Bahrain and a better goal difference than China.
The Garuda squad cannot breathe a sigh of relief yet. The next two matches, against Bahrain and China, will play an important role.
The Indonesian national team will host Bahrain at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK) on March 25. Meanwhile, the duel against China will take place in June.
The top two teams will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup. Meanwhile, the teams ranked 3-4 will continue their struggle to the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Japan became the first team to ensure their qualification for the 2026 World Cup. The Blue Samurai even became the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup outside the host country.
Image source: Radar Indramayu
