"Garuda's" Realistic Path to the World Cup

The victory through a goal scored by Ole Romeny solidified Indonesia's position in fourth place in the temporary standings of Group C. Indonesia, with nine points, is one point behind Saudi Arabia in third place. Meanwhile, the top two positions are occupied by Japan (20 points) and Australia (13 points). Indonesia is three points ahead of Bahrain and China, who are in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

Referring to the standings and with only two matches remaining, the most realistic chance for Indonesia to achieve its dream of reaching the World Cup is through the fourth round. Only the top two positions in the group are entitled to qualify directly for the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Meanwhile, the third and fourth positions are eligible to advance to the fourth round to compete for the remaining two direct tickets.

In fact, the chances for Jay Idzes and his teammates to secure second place and accompany Japan to the 2026 World Cup are not entirely closed. However, Indonesia needs a miracle. It is not enough to win all the matches against China and Japan; Indonesia must also hope that Australia and Saudi Arabia fail to achieve positive results in their last two matches.

The team coached by Patrick Kluivert will face China in Jakarta on June 5, 2025, before traveling to Japan's home ground five days later. If they manage to defeat China, Indonesia will at least secure fourth place.

If they manage to advance to the fourth round, opponents from the Middle East are already waiting. The United Arab Emirates (13 points) has secured a ticket to the fourth round of Group A, while Qatar (10 points) is four points ahead of Kyrgyzstan in fifth place. The top two positions are occupied by Iran (20 points) and Uzbekistan (17 points).

The third and fourth positions in Group B are currently held by Iraq (12) and Oman (10), but the competition for the top two spots remains very tight. Iraq, for instance, is only one point behind second place, Jordan, and four points behind first place, South Korea. With a well-stocked squad resulting from naturalization, coupled with competition against relatively evenly matched opponents, this represents Indonesia's best opportunity.

In order to secure the top four, the time gap of around two and a half months and the completion of the league competition must be utilized by PSSI and Kluivert to prepare the players better. This is different from Kluivert's debut match as the coach of "Garuda", when he was only able to gather his players in full and practice for the first time on the field the day before the match against Australia.

The Dutch coach is expected to be able to implement his game scheme more maturely. While the players are able to adopt the strategy and execute it perfectly on the field. PSSI is also required to make a better national team preparation plan, such as finding the right test match opponent for Garuda.