To Kluivert, Don't Overhaul the Back Three Again and Joey Pelupessy

The title of this piece is crafted like a letter with the aim of requesting something from a loved one. Indonesia's coach, Patrick Kluivert, should rightfully refrain from altering the lineup of the four defenders to bring the hope of reaching the world stage closer to reality.

The four defensive players consisted of a trio of center-backs, namely Rizky Ridho, Jay Idzes, and Justin Hubner, as well as a defensive midfielder, Joey Pelupessy. They performed solidly—without overlooking the contributions of other players—which became the key to Indonesia's 1-0 victory over Bahrain on Tuesday night (25/3/2025) at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium.

The three central defenders, who were also consistently relied upon by the previous coach, Shin Tae-yong, were fielded from the start for the first time by Kluivert. In the match against Australia, only Jay started the game as a main player.

Ridho only came on at the end of the second half to replace the injured Sandy Walsh. Justin was serving a red card.

The arrangement of three central defenders should no longer be contested, at least for the final two matches in June. If there are no injuries, then Ridho-Jay-Justin should undoubtedly start from the beginning of the game against China and Japan.

They have appeared in four Garuda matches in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. As a result, the toughness of the three in the Garuda squad's defense line presented seven points consisting of wins against Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, then a draw against Australia and a loss to Japan.

Regardless of the poor result against Japan, which appears to have no equal in Asia, the trio of central defenders also delivered clean sheets in three other matches. At least two victories against two Middle Eastern teams in Group C demonstrate their effectiveness.

The Sofascore statistics page also gave the three players a score of over seven in three matches when they performed flawlessly against Australia, Saudi, and Bahrain. In those three games, Justin was given a rating of 6.9 in the match against Saudi. However, the non-green number was influenced by the red card he received.

During the 90+ minutes of playing against Bahrain, according to Fotmob, the trio of center backs made an accumulated 24 defensive actions. That number consisted of Justin making 10 defensive actions, followed by Ridho (9) and Jay (5).

Justin's performance stood out with six instances of ball recovery and five clearances. Justin also recorded a 100 percent success rate in tackles from two attempts.

Ridho recorded six clearances and four ball recoveries. One of Ridho's crucial moments was a header clearance in the 48th minute to prevent the ball from entering the goal. In that situation, a shot from a Bahrain player deflected off an Indonesian player, soaring over the goalkeeper, Maarten Paes.

Kluivert was also very happy to see the performance of the Persija Jakarta captain. Kluivert said that Ridho had shown his worthiness to be one of the main pillars in the Indonesian defense.

"Ridho had a fantastic game, very impressive. He has a bright future," said Kluivert.

Jay did not hesitate to praise Ridho. According to the Venezia player, the main key to the Indonesian defender's good performance is good communication.

"Ridho is a player who has potential in the team. I enjoy playing with him," said Jay.

Meanwhile, Jay, although in terms of defensive actions, ball recovery (3 times), and sweeps (3) was inferior to his two partners, his role was very crucial. With the captain's armband on his left arm, Jay became the leader his teammates needed.

He was the most vocal player in protesting the referee when the Garuda squad experienced an unfavorable situation. Several times Jay also protected his teammates when the referee gave them a warning, one of which was to Justin who disturbed the movement of Bahrain goalkeeper, Ebrahim Lutfalla, in the 11th minute.

Meanwhile, Joey proved himself not to be a naturalized player to be a substitute in the Indonesian national team. With his experience and quality, the captain of the Belgian club, Lommel SK, proved to be a complementary particle to Kluivert's game tactics.

Joey's presence ends the Garuda squad's shortage of a number six player, aka a defensive midfielder. A number of players have been tried by Shin and Kluivert, such as Ivar Jenner, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, and Jordi Amat, but they have not provided a guarantee of quality to provide balance in the midfield.

In his debut with the Indonesian national team, Joey appeared very effective. He was always the player closest to the center back trio. His presence made it easier for the center backs to have the closest passing target in the middle line.

Joey's positioning also made Indonesia's ball flow smoother in the build-up process from the defense line. Joey's action also became the beginning of two big opportunities for Indonesia against Bahrain, one of which was a goal scored by Ole Romeny in the 24th minute.

Before Thom Haye played the key pass to Marselino Ferdinand in Bahrain's final third, who then provided the assist for Ole, Joey was the one who passed the ball to Thom. He received the ball from Jay which ended Bahrain's possession.

Then, in the 79th minute, Joey collaborated with Rizky Ridho by becoming Ridho's rebound for a one-two pass in the process of creating a chance that was wasted by Eliano Reijnders.

Despite only playing their first game as a duo at the heart of Indonesia's game, Joey and Thom are already very solid. They understand each other's duties. Joey is tasked with supporting the defense. Meanwhile, Thom can more freely serve the front players with his accurate diagonal passes.

The division of tasks also made the movement of the two midfielders more efficient. The 31-year-old player moved close to the penalty box. Meanwhile, Thom roamed in the middle line to the final third of the opponent's defense.

The record of 45 touches, 85 percent pass accuracy, and five ball recoveries are a manifestation of Joey's "shadow" role that cannot be ignored, especially when Garuda tried to maintain their lead until the final whistle.

"I met Joey in 2011 when I was coaching Twente (youth) team. I changed him from a full-back to the number six position where he is today. He is proud to represent his country and (the match against Bahrain) is just the beginning of his quality," said Kluivert on his impressions of Joey's debut.

Once again. Hopefully Kluivert will not have to experiment with the positions of the four players anymore. With a better preparation period ahead of the match in June, Indonesian national team fans will have the opportunity to be presented with a more mature performance from the four players.