Indonesia vs. Saudi Arabia: What's Coach Patrick Kluivert's New Tactic?

The Indonesian national team is armed with competitive spirit as they face Saudi Arabia in the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualification for the Asian zone. In their last two matches against Saudi Arabia in 2024, Indonesia recorded one draw and one victory.

The fighting spirit of the Indonesian national team with this latest composition is essential to face Saudi Arabia, which will be playing as the host. The match against Saudi Arabia will take place on Thursday (9/10/2025) at 00:15 WIB.

Indonesia's coach Patrick Kluivert has brought his key players to face Saudi Arabia. From the names released, most are regulars of the national team in the World Cup qualifiers, such as Rizky Ridho, Jay Idzes, Sandy Walsh, Thom Haye, Ricky Kambuaya, Ragnar Oratmangoen, and Egy Maulana Vikri. Forward Ole Romeny and goalkeeper Maarten Paes, who had previously suffered injuries, have also joined the squad.

If we look at the composition of the players, there have not been many changes made by the coaching staff. Although there are two new names such as Mauro Zjilstra and Miliano Jonathans, the composition of the team in other lines has remained largely unchanged. This indicates that the national team's strength is beginning to find a stable structure across the lines.

New players Mauro Zjilstra and Miliano Jonathans have made their debut by defeating Taiwan with a score of 6-0 in a friendly match at Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya (5/9/2025). Miliano Jonathans has even been referred to by netizens as having abilities similar to Arjen Robben, the former winger of the Dutch national team.

Mauro Zjilstra and Miliano Jonathans will join the forward line of the Indonesian national team alongside Ole Romeny, Ragnar Oratmangoen, Yakob Sayuri, Egy Maulana Vikri, and Ramadhan Sananta. The addition of these two new players is expected to enhance the quality of the national team's attack, which has been considered less than optimal thus far.

In midfield, Indonesia boasts a wealth of players coach Patrick Kluivert can choose from to close down opponents during pressing and play passes to the attackers. Thom Haye, Joey Pelupessy, Marc Klok, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, and Ricky Kambuaya are all available for these two roles.

On the defensive side, the Indonesian national team boasts key defenders such as Jay Idzes, Kevin Diks, Calvin Verdonk, Dean James, and Rizky Ridho. Jay Idzes is the most expensive Indonesian player, playing for Sassuolo in Italy (IDR 130.36 billion), followed by Kevin Diks from Borussia Monchengladbach (IDR 86.91 billion), Calvin Verdonk (IDR 43.45 billion), and Dean James (IDR 31.29 billion).

Outside of the expensive squad of national team defenders, there are also other reliable names such as Shayne Pattynama, Sandy Walsh, and Yakob Sayuri. With a solid composition of players across all lines, the strategy of coach Patrick Kluivert will be crucial in determining the playing pattern of the Indonesian national team.

Since officially becoming the coach of the Indonesian national team in January 2025, Patrick Kluivert has played six matches with the Garuda team. From all the matches, Kluivert has led the Garuda team to achieve three victories, one draw, and two losses.

One of the strategies often employed by Kluivert is attacking. A massive attacking pattern was implemented when Indonesia faced Bahrain and China. When applying a massive attacking strategy, Indonesia tends to dominate the midfield to penetrate into the front line. The discipline of play in the midfield enabled Indonesia to secure full points when facing Bahrain and China.

The key aspect of the game often demonstrated by Kluivert is the placement of a holding midfielder tasked with maintaining discipline in the midfield. This role is usually undertaken by Joey Palupessy. Palupessy's characteristics, which include composure and ball control, are significant assets for Indonesia in maintaining balance in the midfield.

However, this tactic is not without its flaws. When attacking massively, Kluivert only leaves three players in defense. By leaving only two to three defenders behind, Indonesia's wing defense is often exploited by opposing players. This gap in Indonesia's gameplay is easily penetrated by the organized play implemented by Japan in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualification match (10/6/2025).

Before departing for Saudi Arabia, Indonesia played two friendly matches against Taiwan (5/9/2025) and Lebanon (8/9/2025). In the match against Taiwan, Indonesia achieved a victory with a score of 6-0. Meanwhile, in the match against Lebanon, Indonesia ended in a draw with a score of 0-0.

The official website of the International Football Federation (FIFA) reviewed interesting findings from the last two friendly matches. Kluivert experimented with a new playing pattern based on ball possession philosophy. This playing philosophy emphasizes controlling the match through ball possession to dictate the game.

An effective ball possession strategy can open up more scoring opportunities while reducing pressure on the opponent. This playing philosophy, which focuses on ball possession and short passes, is widely used by the Spanish club Barcelona.

Kluivert also experimented with a new 4-4-2 formation. The three positions that Kluivert tested in this new formation were the function of wing back (Calvin Verdonk), ball-winning midfielder (Nathan Tjoe A-On), and a forward with a dual role (Mauro Zijstra).

Calvin Verdonk typically plays the full-back position. This full-back is tasked with guarding the defensive flanks, either on the left or right. In Kluivert's latest experiment, Verdonk was tasked with playing as a wing-back. The wing-back also serves to shorten the line of attack. This role combines the roles of a full-back and a winger, requiring Verdonk to move more frequently to support the attack.

Nathan will also take on new duties as a ball-winning midfielder. This aggressive midfielder's role focuses on winning the ball back from the opponent in midfield. This ball-winning midfielder also plays a role in disrupting the opponent's attack and creating space for the creative midfielder (playmaker) to open up attacks.

In the front position, Kluivert placed a dual-role striker filled by Mauro Zijstra. The tactic of assigning a dual-function striker (false nine) involves allowing the forward to retreat back to the midfield. When the team has possession of the ball, this forward must drop back slightly into the midfield.

The movement of this forward will be followed by the opposing defenders, creating gaps for the attack. The role of this false forward, originally as a goal scorer, has shifted to that of a playmaker similar to a midfielder. His role as a striker can be replaced by the attacking midfielders behind him.

In the back line, Kluivert also sharpened the role of Kevin Diks as a central defender to accompany Jay Idzes. Previously, Kevin Diks played more as a right-back. The partnership of Diks and Idzes has made the Indonesian national team's defense more solid.

At a glance, the tactics tested by Kluivert are reminiscent of the playing style employed by coach Pep Guardiola and the Barcelona club, which emphasizes ball possession, the support of wing-backs, and the role of a false nine typically performed by Lionel Messi.

However, Kluivert's new playing style will be tested by Saudi Arabian coach Hervé Renard, who frequently employs high-pressing and man-marking tactics. High-pressing involves tight guarding of opposing players from the attack to the defense. Man-marking, on the other hand, involves individual guarding to avoid being outnumbered, making it difficult for opponents to crowd players into one area.

Renard's frequently used high-pressing strategy with four defenders could potentially be a problem for Indonesia. Furthermore, Indonesia often struggles against teams that employ high pressing. With a four-man defense, Saudi Arabia often dominates the midfield and maintains balance with the backline in both attack and defense.

Saudi Arabia often relies on its wing players to launch attacks. Looking at the previous composition of Saudi Arabian players, both the wing backs and midfielders on the right and left sides possess the speed to penetrate the opponent's defense. This is certainly something that Indonesia needs to be cautious about.

On several occasions, Renard has also instructed Saudi Arabia to dominate ball possession. This is evident from several of Saudi Arabia's recent matches to neutralize the aggressive play of their opponents. Psychological tactics have also been employed to disrupt the concentration of opposing players. This strategy certainly needs to be watched closely by Indonesia.

Judging by Indonesia and Saudi Arabia's tactics and statistical records, Indonesia has a good chance of achieving a positive result. Moreover, Saudi Arabia has never beaten Indonesia in their two previous meetings in the 2026 World Cup qualifying rounds.

On average, Indonesia under Kluivert's management has a slightly better goal average, namely 1.5 goals per match. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia recorded an average of 1.3 goals per match. This record indicates that both teams employ attacking tactics.

From a defensive standpoint, Indonesia needs to be cautious as the record of goals conceded by the Garuda team under Kluivert is higher than that of Saudi Arabia. Indonesia has recorded an average of 1.8 goals conceded per match, while Saudi Arabia has recorded an average of 1.1 goals conceded per match.

This indicates that there are still gaps in Indonesia's defense line that must be monitored. These gaps need to be watched closely considering that Indonesia's key goalkeeper is not in optimal condition. Goalkeeper Maarten Paes has just recovered from an injury since August 2025. Paes had to miss the last nine matches with his club FC Dallas.

The tactical duel and experience of both coaches make the match between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia a highly anticipated moment for Indonesian football fans. The new tactics of coach Patrick Kluivert have proven effective, allowing the Indonesian national team to control the game by dominating possession against Taiwan (57 percent) and Lebanon (81 percent).

Nevertheless, the ability to control the ball must be accompanied by success in scoring goals to achieve maximum points. Discipline in gameplay and the ability to handle psychological pressure in the opponent's home ground should be the focus of the Indonesian national team's performance.

The success in defeating Saudi Arabia not only opened up a wide opportunity to qualify for the 2026 World Cup but also erased the minor record of the Indonesian national team, which had suffered more losses when facing Saudi Arabia. (LITBANG KOMPAS)