From Sydney, World Cup Dreams Are Just Illusions

SYDNEY, THURSDAY — Patrick Kluivert's debut as the coach of Indonesia's national team ended poorly. The "Garuda" squad suffered a 1-5 defeat against Australia on Thursday (20/3/2025) at the Sydney Football Stadium, reminding football enthusiasts in the country that the dream of reaching the 2026 World Cup is not as simple as turning one's hand.

Kluivert's arrival to replace Shin Tae-yong as the head coach of the Indonesian national team last January brought optimism to fulfill the ambition of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. Moreover, Kluivert was also "equipped" with the addition of three newly naturalized players, namely Emil Audero, Joey Pelupessy, and Dean James.

However, Kluivert's debut match and first challenge to lead Indonesia to the world stage did not go as expected. Indonesia was defeated by goals from Martin Boyle through a penalty in the 18th minute, followed by Nishan Velupillay (20th minute), Lewis Miller (61st minute), and two goals from Australian star Jackson Irvine (34th and 90th minutes). Indonesia only managed a consolation goal through a strike by their new forward, Ole Romeny, in the 78th minute.

Indonesia's path to the 2026 World Cup by securing one of the six best teams from the third round while accompanying Japan from Group C is becoming increasingly challenging. The Garuda squad remains with six points after playing seven matches.

Indonesia is already four points behind Australia, which has accumulated 10 points. Under these circumstances, it is difficult for Indonesia to secure second place in the final standings of Group C. This is because, based on the three remaining opponents, Jay Idzes and his teammates can realistically achieve a maximum of 12 points, provided they manage to win both remaining home games against Bahrain and China.

Indonesia's position has also dropped from third place to fifth place. The cause is the worsening goal difference for Indonesia, from -3 to -7 goals.

This situation places Indonesia ahead of China only by goal difference, with China recording -10 goals. China is set to play their seventh game against Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on Friday (21/3/2025) early morning WIB. As a result, Indonesia must temporarily set aside its ambition to qualify for the 2026 World Cup through the fourth round.

Even so, Indonesia's hopes are still awake to win the remaining two direct tickets through the fourth round. The condition is that the Garuda squad must be able to end the third round competition in third or fourth place.

The journey in the fourth round will not be easy. Indonesia has the opportunity to be the only team outside the Middle East in the next round. In order to qualify for the world stage next year, Indonesia must sit in first place out of three contestants.

The result of the duel in Sydney further confirmed that the Garuda squad never returned from the "kangaroo continent" with their heads held high. The defeat of Kluivert's team was Indonesia's sixth consecutive negative result in a match at Australia's home since the 1974 World Cup qualifiers, March 1973.

Unsurprisingly, Kluivert became the second foreign coach to fail to lift the curse in Australia after Peter Withe. In 2005, Indonesia, coached by the Aston Villa legend, lost 0-3 in a friendly match to raise funds for the victims of the Aceh tsunami in December 2004.

In total, Kluivert adds to the long list of coaches who failed to help Indonesia bring home points from Australia. Five Indonesian coaches who have experienced the bitterness of playing at the home of the "Socceroos", Australia's nickname, are Endang Witarsa, Harry Tjong, Withe, Benny Dollo, and Kluivert.

Worse still, Kluivert almost matched Witarsa's record in the second match of the 1974 World Cup qualifiers in Sydney, which is still recorded as Indonesia's worst defeat by the "Socceroos". At that time, Indonesia fell 0-6.

Despite this, Romeny managed to end Indonesia's goalless streak in Australia. He became the second Garuda player to score in an away match against Australia after Iswadi Idris in the 1974 World Cup qualifiers.

Indonesia started the game well. In the first 10 minutes of the match, Garuda had two golden opportunities, starting with Jay Idzes' header which was saved by Australian goalkeeper Matthew Ryan in the fifth minute.

Three minutes later, Indonesia got a penalty which was executed by Kevin Diks. Unfortunately, the Copenhagen full-back's execution was thwarted by the goalpost.

After that, Indonesia created a parade of blunders in the defensive zone. Midfielder Nathan Tjoe-A-On pulled on an Australian corner, causing the referee to point to the spot for the home team.

Thom Haye, another Indonesian midfielder, was also not left behind in making mistakes. His intention to sweep actually became an "assist" for Australia's second goal which destroyed the Indonesian squad's mentality. In total, Indonesia also conceded twice in Australia's corner kick scheme.