Against Bahrain, Waiting for the Results of the Indonesian National Team's Evaluation

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Indonesian national team must defeat Bahrain in the eighth game of Group C in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Tuesday (25/3/2025) at 8:45 PM WIB, at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta. Failure to win would signify that the "Garuda" squad must begin to abandon their dream of reaching the global stage.

"All players are 100 percent ready. We have conducted evaluations to address all shortcomings and mistakes from the match against Australia. We will showcase our best strength to achieve victory," said Marselino Ferdinan, an Indonesian midfielder, during a press conference ahead of the match on Monday evening (24/3/2025) at SUGBK.

Marselino admitted that there were many shortcomings in the 1-5 defeat to Australia, one of which was the chemistry between players. The Oxford United midfielder is optimistic that the performance will improve and that the Indonesian national team will get a positive result against Bahrain.

"We can't build in one or three days. Regardless of the result against Australia, we only have a goal to focus on facing Bahrain. All players will play hard for three points," said Marselino who already has 36 caps with the Indonesian national team.

Indonesia's coach, Patrick Kluivert, revealed that all elements of the Garuda squad, including the coaching staff and players, are in a positive and confident condition ahead of the match against Bahrain. According to him, after the defeat against Australia, unity within the locker room is the key to recovery.

"The players and coaching staff possess a highly dedicated mindset in pursuing the same goal: victory. Unity serves as our provision to chase the victory we need to compete for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup," said Kluivert.

In addition to a conducive internal environment, Kluivert stated that his team needs support from all the fans who will fill the stadium. He is confident that the presence of supporters will have a significant impact on the motivation of all players.

"Extra motivation from the audience is very important to spur the players to perform at their best tomorrow (Tuesday). We are striving to provide something that the Indonesian nation can celebrate," he continued.

During the official training session on Monday night, the Indonesian squad consisted of 28 players. Mees Hilgers, who suffered an injury in Australia, has returned to his club, FC Twente, for intensive treatment.

The composition of the Indonesian national team consists of 24 outfield players and four goalkeepers. The 24 players are divided into two groups of 12 people each to undergo physical training guided by physical trainer, Quentin Jakoba. Not just running, Jakoba also provides a physical duel session aka body charge between two players.

After that, a short passing training session in a tight space was implemented by Kluivert. In that training session, the players were divided into three groups of eight people.

The four goalkeepers are trained under the guidance of goalkeeping coach Sjoerd Woudenberg. The four goalkeepers, namely Maarten Paes, Emil Audero, Ernando Ari, and Nadeo Argawinata, are trained to face one-on-one situations.

Two goalkeepers guard two goals on different sides. Then, the other two goalkeepers plus Woudenberg become the shot executors. On several occasions, Woudenberg gave advice to his players to move more actively in order to quickly close the shooting space of the opposing players.

Meanwhile, Kluivert remains confident in Indonesia's chances of qualifying directly for the 2026 World Cup as second place in Group C.

After experiencing a disappointing defeat from Australia, Indonesia has a mission to collect three points against Bahrain. After undergoing the seventh match, Indonesia, Bahrain and China still have six points. The Garuda squad is in a better position than the two competitors because of the superior goal difference and goal productivity.

We are focused on winning the remaining games. The players and coaching staff also have the same ambition.

As a result, victory over Bahrain at least maintains Indonesia's chances of at least advancing to the fourth round which will take place in the second half of this year. On the other hand, Indonesia's steps to maintain its dream of competing in the 2026 World Cup could be prematurely dashed before the last two duels of the third round, in June.

In addition to Japan, which has secured a ticket to the 2026 World Cup finals, Australia is a strong candidate to sit in second place and become one of six teams to qualify directly for the 23rd edition of the World Cup next year. Meanwhile, the third position has a big chance to be occupied by Saudi Arabia.

"We are focused on winning the remaining games. The players and the coaching staff have the same ambition," said Kluivert, who previously coached Adana Demirspor and the Curacao national team.

Marselino also does not want to close the chance for Indonesia to qualify for the 2026 World Cup through the third round. For him, all possibilities are still open in the competition to win the remaining ticket to the world stage from Group C.

"I and all the players are still optimistic (to win second place). We are focused on facing each match in order to pursue the goal of winning. There are no other thoughts such as drawing, let alone losing," said the 20-year-old Marselino.

Meanwhile, in the record of meetings against Bahrain, Indonesia has only been able to beat Bahrain twice out of eight duels since the first meeting in the 1980 South Korean President's Cup.

Having led 3-2 in the first duel, the Garuda squad last defeated Bahrain in the opening game of the 2007 Asian Cup at SUGBK. Two goals from Budi Sudarsono and Bambang Pamungkas ensured Indonesia's superiority over the Arabian Peninsula team for the first time in Jakarta.