Indonesia Can't Qualify for the 2026 World Cup Without Ole Romeny, Unless...

Two friendly matches at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium in Surabaya, East Java, this September, underscore the Indonesian national team's addiction to Ole Romeny. He is like opium for the sharpness of the attacking line of Patrick Kluivert's squad. Without him, the "Garuda's" claws become dull.

The goalless draw, or 0-0, against Lebanon on Monday night (8/9/2025) reflects the quality of the Indonesian national team. Jay Idzes and his teammates have become increasingly cohesive and resilient in defense, but they have run out of ideas in creating opportunities.

As a result, the significant victory over Taiwan three days earlier was nothing more than an exhibition match. The goals brought smiles to the fans of the Indonesian national team before they faced a goal drought in the actual match during the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in October.

Playing without Ole, who is still in the recovery phase from an injury, Kluivert tried Mauro Zijlstra as the main striker to penetrate Lebanon's defense. Playing for 56 minutes, Mauro, who represents the Dutch League team Volendam, failed to create any significant opportunities. Only a single off-target shot marked his debut as a starting player for the Garuda team.

Another striker, Ramadhan Sananta, played for only seven minutes. There were no notable offensive efforts displayed by the DPMM FC player in the Malaysian League. Sananta merely contributed by providing two successful passes.

The performances of Mauro and Sananta indicate that they have not yet reached a level comparable to Ole. Certainly, this is not entirely the fault of the players.

Mauro still needs playing time with his teammates in the national team as he was only sworn in as an Indonesian citizen a few days before the match, while Sananta also needs to continue honing his skills. In terms of age and experience, both are still younger than Ole.

At 25 years old, Ole is currently the most senior center forward that Indonesia has. Ball control, positioning, goal-scoring instinct, and composure in front of the goal are characteristic attributes of Ole.

We continued to play offensively, trying to score, but failed. This is our chance to learn a lesson. - Patrick Kluivert

It is not surprising that the three goals scored by Indonesia in five matches against equivalent teams—excluding Taiwan—during Kluivert's era were all produced by that Oxford United player. Australia, Bahrain, and China have all felt Ole's sharpness. He was only unable to make an impact when facing Japan, which ended in a 0-6 defeat on June 10.

Looking at the goal records, the Indonesian national team is heavily reliant on Ole. Kluivert has yet to develop other sources of goals for Garuda. Even players like Marselino Ferdinan, Ragnar Oratmangoen, Thom Haye, and Sandy Walsh, who scored in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, have failed to maintain their sharpness following the transition of leadership from Shin Tae-yong to Kluivert.

If he does not wish to mention more players, Kluivert should be able to help accelerate the performance quality of Mauro and Sananta according to the national team's needs. Armed with the title of one of the best pure strikers in Dutch history, Kluivert has yet to be able to transfer his abilities to these two young strikers.

In fact, Kluivert is equipped with the most extensive coaching staff in the history of the Indonesian national team. The Dutch tactician is assisted by 14 right-hand men, including assistant coaches, development coaches, goalkeeping coaches, physical trainers, performance analysts, match analysts, nutritionists, team doctors, and physiotherapists.

The number does not include Technical Director Alexander Zwiers, Technical Advisor Jordi Cruyff, Head of Scouting Simon Tahamata, Manager Sumardji, and Technical Assistant Gerald Vanenburg.

Kluivert stated that Lebanon's ultra-defensive playing style was the main reason for his team's failure to deliver a second victory for the football fans in Surabaya. Lebanon played by placing five players at the heart of their defense.

Indonesia could only create nine shots from 81 percent ball possession. Worse still, none of those shots were on target.

Therefore, even though the majority of the match saw his 10 teammates more frequently chasing the ball, the Lebanese goalkeeper, Mostafa Matar, did not make any saves or catches at all.

"We are struggling to create opportunities to score goals. We continue to play offensively, trying to score, but we fail. This is our chance to learn a lesson," said Kluivert after the match.

The final results in football can indeed be influenced by various variables. A strong defense from the opponent is certainly a reason why Indonesia struggled to break through Lebanon's defense. Additionally, luck was not on the side of the Garuda squad.

Moreover, Indonesia seems to be at a loss for how to break through Lebanon's defenses. The attacks are only focused from both flanks. Cross passes have become the mainstay.

However, the Lebanese defenders were able to thwart or put Indonesian players in less than ideal situations to receive passes inside their penalty area.

According to Lapangbola, not a single through ball was created by an Indonesian player. This is despite the fact that regional football is favored by Sananta, Mauro, Marselino, and Miliano Jonathans. Through balls that split the defense can actually be an alternative way to disrupt the opponent's low defensive block.

When comparing the quantity of passes in the final third of the opponent's defense, the match against Lebanon showed improvement compared to facing Taiwan. Indonesia achieved 33 percent successful passes in the final defensive zone of Lebanon. This figure contrasts with 25 percent when leading 6-0 against Taiwan.

However, the passes within the penalty box have decreased. Against Taiwan, Thom Haye and his teammates made 27 successful passes in the 16-meter box. In the match against Lebanon, Indonesia recorded only 12 accurate passes within the opponent's penalty box.

One of the reasons Garuda failed to produce a single accurate shot on target is the poor accuracy of crosses. Placing two players on each side of the wings in a 4-2-3-1 formation was not accompanied by adequate crosses to support the forwards.

The Indonesian squad has only achieved 20 percent accurate crosses. This percentage has decreased compared to the average of 26 percent accurate crosses during the 10 matches of the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualification.

A number of statistical notes will certainly serve as evaluation material for Kluivert. Moreover, Indonesia's two opponents in the fourth round, namely Saudi Arabia and Iraq, possess qualities far superior to Lebanon.

This can be referenced from the current FIFA ranking position. Iraq is in 58th place and Saudi Arabia is in 59th place. Meanwhile, Lebanon is only six levels above Indonesia, which is in 118th place.

Undoubtedly, Indonesian players will find it challenging to dominate possession of the ball as they did against Taiwan and Lebanon. Therefore, the quality of passing and attacking must improve in order to make the most of the shorter duration of ball possession.

"There is still time to refine the final touches. There are several opportunities, but the final touches are still lacking. Hopefully, they (the coaching team) can discuss and deepen the strategies that will be presented (in the fourth round)," said PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir.