How is Indonesia's Challenge in the Fourth Round of World Cup Qualification?

How is the competitive constellation in the fourth qualifying round?

The Indonesian national team is surrounded by five countries from the Arabian Peninsula in the competition for the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, vying for the last two tickets from Asia. Among the six teams, only Oman has never qualified for the main stage of the World Cup before. Indonesia, on the other hand, has appeared in the 1938 edition under the name Dutch East Indies.

The fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers will be held in a mini-tournament format with the host country centralized. The six teams will be divided into two groups. Each team will play twice. Each group winner will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while the two second-place finishers will compete for a ticket to the inter-confederation playoffs in March 2026.

In order to advance to the main stage of the World Cup, Indonesia has no other option but to win two matches next October. "All countries that qualify (for the fourth round) have a strong ambition to progress to the World Cup. They are teams that have the capability to compete with one another. We will improve ourselves to prepare for the interesting opponents in October," said Indonesia's Coach Patrick Kluivert after the match against Japan.

The ambition to qualify is also proclaimed by Qatar's coach Julen Lopetegui. The former coach of Real Madrid and the Spanish national team aims to be the first tactician to lead Qatar to the main stage of the World Cup through the qualification route. Qatar is the strongest team in the fourth round.

"Qatar have never qualified before and we will fight to qualify in October. This team has the potential to compete with the presence of a new generation of the squad," Lopetegui told the FIFA website.

How big is the support from the fans in the journey of the Indonesian national team so far?

Support from the spectators in the stadium stands has become a symbol of the surging nationalism that accompanies the achievements of the Indonesian national football team in the World Cup qualifiers. The victory of the Garuda national team, 1-0 against China (05/06/2025), for instance, was witnessed by tens of thousands of spectators. No less than 80,000 tickets were sold out in just two days.

Indeed, when the Garuda team had to visit Japan for the final match of the third round, around 5,000 Indonesian citizens in Japan attended the stadium. The number, confirmed by the Consulate General of Indonesia in Osaka and the Embassy of Indonesia in Japan, reflects the sustained high enthusiasm of the spectators.

Support for the Indonesian national team has now expanded into the digital realm, not just in the stadium. Digital tribunes have become an extension of physical tribunes, where fans express their support, criticism, and even moral pressure on the federation.

From June 3 to June 10, 2025, several hashtags related to the national team appeared in the national trending list on the X (Twitter) and TikTok platforms. The hashtag #SupportTheNationalTeam appeared over 120,000 times, followed by #GarudaFight (87,000). These hashtags may merely represent fleeting expressions of emotion, but they remain indicators of public opinion regarding the team's performance and the policies of Indonesian football federation.

One of the support choreography videos at GBK uploaded on TikTok has been viewed more than 620,000 times and received 50,000 interactions within two days. Another video, which shows the diaspora singing together in Osaka, has been viewed 210,000 times in just 24 hours.

What is the comparative report of the “Garuda” team in the Kluivert era with Shin Tae-yong?

When comparing the influence of Patrick Kluivert with Shin Tae-yong, who led Indonesia in six qualifying matches, both coaches delivered six points each. Kluivert achieved two wins and two losses, while Shin provided one victory, three draws, and two defeats in the third round.

In four matches under Kluivert, Indonesia was only able to score three goals. All goals were scored in the matches against Australia, Bahrain, and China. Ole Romeny is the only player who managed to score during Kluivert's era.

In the face of Japan, Indonesia's attacking line was powerless. There were no shots that could be created by the Garuda squad. Indonesia even failed to make any touches in the Japanese penalty area.

Three goals in the last four matches represent a decline when referring to attacking performance. In comparison, the Garuda team scored six goals in six matches under Shin. The sources of the goals are also more varied, as they were scored by five different players. They are Marselino Ferdinan (2 goals) and one goal each from Sandy Walsh, Ragnar Oratmangoen, Rafael Struick, and Thom Gaye.

In four matches under Kluivert, Indonesia has only produced 2.5 shots on target per match. This figure has decreased compared to four shots on goal per match in the previous six matches under Shin.

The defense was equally poor during the Kluivert era. Indonesia managed to record two goalless matches against Bahrain and China in Jakarta. However, they conceded 11 goals in two away matches in Australia and Japan. Interestingly, in the two matches that ended in heavy defeats, Rizky Ridho did not play as a starting player.

"Our defense was weak today. We will strive to improve and play much better in the next round," said Kluivert after facing Japan.

Patrick Kluivert promises to improve his team ahead of the fourth round. What kind?

The Indonesian national football team learned an important lesson in the match against Japan on Tuesday (10/6/2025) at the Suita City Football Stadium, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The 0-6 defeat serves as a reflection for the "Garuda" team to improve itself ahead of the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers next October.

Competing with a squad built through a naturalization program over the past two years, the Garuda team also failed to score in Japan. As a result, no Indonesian player has been able to conquer the defense of the "Blue Samurai" in Japan thus far.

"Japan is a team that possesses a lot of quality and presents a World Cup level of play. This is a very important lesson for me personally as a coach, as well as for our team in facing the fourth round," said Indonesia's coach Patrick Kluivert at the press conference following the match.

From the match against Japan, which is ranked as the best team in Asia according to the latest FIFA rankings (15th position), the Indonesian team has reaffirmed the weaknesses during Kluivert's era that were already evident in the duels against Bahrain and China, namely the poor offensive creativity. Indonesia only scored one goal each against Bahrain and China, despite averaging 10 shots in both matches.

In order to improve themselves after being defeated by Japan, Thom Haye and his teammates still have the opportunity to refine their preparations and address shortcomings in the international match scheduled for early September. The Chairman of PSSI, Erick Thohir, has scheduled friendly matches against two teams from the Arabian Peninsula, namely Kuwait and Lebanon.

"All participants in the fourth round are very strong teams and major countries that have ambitions for the World Cup like us. The defeat (against Japan) should serve as a benchmark for us to make plans and improve ourselves in preparation for October," Kluivert stated.

Why was the crushing defeat by Japan a slap in the face for Indonesia regarding player development?

When facing Indonesian players, most of whom are naturalized and play in European leagues, Japan continues to have faith in its local players. Many players from the yellow race also compete in major European leagues, such as the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga, the Italian Serie A, and Ligue 1 in France.

The advancement of the quality of local Japanese players began with a significant change in 1992. At that time, the Japan Football Association (JFA) launched a 100-year vision stating that Japan must become the champion of the World Cup within the next 100 years.

To realize its vision, the JFA undertook two simultaneous actions. First, it launched the J-League as a professional league and developed a structured football training and competition system at the grassroots level. Prior to launching the J-League, the JFA studied various professional leagues from several countries, including Indonesia.

In the J-League, clubs must stand alone and their players are professional athletes. Clubs typically have a "guardian" in the form of a large company in the city where the club is established, serving as the main sponsor, but they are not owned by any specific company, thus maintaining their independence.

Second, to conduct structured football training and competitions at the grassroots level. Unlike Indonesia, which focuses solely on the national team and professional leagues, the Japanese football federation places great importance on early age development at the school level, from elementary schools to universities.

The football training curriculum as an extracurricular activity is structured very well in a tiered manner. Furthermore, tiered competitions from the city level to the national level are also held regularly. Physical education teachers are trained to become football coaches, according to the school level they teach.

The high quality of Japanese players has led many of them to be recruited by European clubs after two or three seasons competing in the J-League. From the list of players currently and previously representing Japan in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, there are 35 players who are affiliated with European clubs.