Come on, guys, let's win tickets to the 2026 World Cup.

JEDDAH, TUESDAY – Since being registered as an official member of FIFA in 1952, the Indonesian national team had to wait 73 years to reach the closest step towards the World Cup. The path to the grandest football tournament lasts only 180 minutes. It is time for the "Garuda" squad to etch a monumental history in Saudi Arabia.

Indonesia is one of the six remaining teams in the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The two best teams from the two groups—each containing three teams—will secure the remaining direct tickets allocated by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The team coached by Patrick Kluivert is surrounded by five teams from the Middle East. In Group B of the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Indonesia is the only team that has never experienced competing on the world stage.

Although FIFA recorded Indonesia as the first Asian ambassador at the World Cup in the 1938 edition, this record does not have a close connection to the history of Indonesian football. The team sent to the World Cup was guided by the Netherlands Indies Football Association (NIVU), not PSSI, which had not yet been recognized by FIFA at that time.

This is certainly different from Saudi Arabia, which has experienced six editions of the World Cup since the United States in 1994. Meanwhile, Iraq represented Asia at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

If the outcome of football matches were determined by the number of prayers, Indonesia would surely triumph over Saudi Arabia and Iraq. However, the substantial support from fans and the efforts to gather diaspora players mean nothing without genuine sweat on the field.

We treat this match like a final. We've prepared everything to secure a positive result.

Kluivert is also eager to write golden ink in his coaching career. Similar to Indonesia, he has the opportunity to experience his first moment leading the national team as head coach in the World Cup.

Kluivert's first attempt at qualifying for the World Cup failed with Curaçao. Kluivert failed to lead Curaçao to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

The mission to reach the World Cup with Indonesia also represents a gamble on Kluivert's dignity. He has been well supported by PSSI, strengthening the team by adding six diaspora players under his leadership regime.

Kluivert is also supported by 14 staff members who are fluent in Dutch, including Technical Director Alexander Zwiers and technical advisor, Jordi Cruyff. This is the largest coaching staff in the history of the Indonesian national team. Unsurprisingly, he referred to the two fourth-round matches against Saudi Arabia and Iraq as "finals."

The decisive match against Saudi Arabia will take place on Thursday (9/10/2025) at 00:15 WIB, at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In order to maintain hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, Indonesia must not lose to Saudi Arabia, nicknamed the "Green Falcons."

"We consider this match as a final. We have prepared everything to achieve a positive result. We are optimistic about performing strongly," said Kluivert at a press conference ahead of the match in Jeddah, Tuesday (7/10/2025).

Kluivert revealed that his players are already accustomed to playing under pressure. In addition to the ambition of qualifying for the World Cup, the terror from home supporters during the 90 minutes of the match must also be anticipated by Jay Idzes and his teammates.

"We have no fear. I am confident that my team is accustomed to the atmosphere of tight matches," said Kluivert, who has recently achieved three victories out of six matches coaching the Garuda squad.

One position that is the focus of Kluivert's preparations is the goalkeeper position. The intention of PSSI to naturalize Emil Audero for the fourth round, but fate had other plans.

Emil, who was in top form at the beginning of the 2025-2026 season, suffered a muscle injury while training ahead of Cremonese's match against Como on September 27. The goalkeeper, born in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, remains in Italy to undergo treatment for his injury recovery.

"Unfortunately, I cannot join due to injury. That is football, that is life. I hope to help my teammates reach our dreams, but I am confident they will give their all to make us happy and proud," Emil wrote in a story feature on his Instagram account this Tuesday.

While Emil was injured, fellow goalkeeper Maarten Paes had also not fully recovered from a hamstring injury he sustained last July. This situation presented Ernando Ari with the opportunity to return to the Indonesian national team's goalkeeping position.

The last time the Persebaya Surabaya goalkeeper appeared for the Garuda team was during the final match of the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against the Philippines on June 11, 2024. After that, Ernando became the third choice behind Emil and Maarten.

"Emil's absence has had quite an impact on us. However, we have the right replacement," said Kluivert.

Saudi coach Herve Renard revealed that his team's condition is much better now compared to when they lost to Indonesia 0-2 in November 2024. In preparation for the fourth round, Saudi participated in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, and then faced the European duo, North Macedonia and the Czech Republic, last September.

"The team's spirit is fantastic. We do not consider the friendly match as an exhibition game. We are already prepared to think about the matches this month," said Renard.

A valuable addition to Saudi Arabia's squad ahead of the match against Indonesia is the presence of captain Salem al-Dawsari. The Al-Hilal player missed the game at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta due to injury. Al-Dawsari will earn his 100th cap for the Green Falcons when he plays against Indonesia.