Patrick Kluivert and the Challenge of Four Decades of the Indonesian National Team vs. Australia Match

Four decades have passed without the Indonesian national football team securing a victory against Australia. From 1982 to 2024, Indonesia has only managed to achieve two draws and suffered eight defeats when facing Australia in various competitions and friendly matches.

The Indonesian national team last secured a victory in 1981 when facing Australia during the qualification round for the 1982 World Cup. At that time, Indonesia, coached by Endang Witarsa, won with a score of 1-0 while playing at Gelora 10 November Stadium, Surabaya. That victory marked the last recorded win for the Indonesian national team in matches against Australia.

Meanwhile, the latest match between the two teams took place on September 10, 2024, during the Group C third-round qualifiers for the Asian zone of the World Cup at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta. The Indonesian national team, coached by Shin Tae-yong, held Australia to a 0-0 draw.

This note illustrates the ebb and flow of the national team's performance quality when facing Australia. In terms of FIFA rankings, Indonesia is indeed far behind Australia. The Indonesian national team currently holds the 127th position, while Australia is ranked 26th in the world.

However, Indonesia is now fielding a squad of different quality compared to matches in previous years. The new coach, Patrick Kuivert, has called up many young players with experience in European competitions as well as elite Asian competitions ahead of the match against Australia on March 20, 2025, at 4:10 PM WIB.

If we look at statistical records and current trends, Indonesia has the opportunity to break a 44-year stalemate without a victory. There are at least several assets that can be optimally utilized by Patrick Kluivert.

First, Indonesia nearly showcased its full strength when facing Australia. Out of the 30 players called up, only Egy Maulana was unable to play due to injury. However, this issue could be resolved as Indonesia has several players capable of replacing Egy's position on the right wing, such as Sandy Walsh and Eliano Reijnders. Even Pratama Arhan, who plays in the Thai League, could also be an option to fill Egy's position.

The next players who were also absent when facing Australia were Ragnar Oratmangoen (forward) and Justin Hubner (center back). Both had to be absent due to accumulation of yellow cards. However, this can also be anticipated thanks to the competitive squad owned by the Indonesian national team.

In the striker position, Indonesia has Ole Romeny and Rafael Struick. Local strikers such as Ramadhan Sananta, Septian Bagaskara, and Hokky Caraka can also be other options.

Meanwhile, in the defensive position, Indonesia also has a quality squad. Other names such as Mees Hilgers, Jay Idzes, Rizky Ridho, Dean James, and Muhammad Ferarri can also be options in the back line when Hubner does not appear.

Second, in addition to the many quality player options, another thing that Patrick Kluivert can also take advantage of to get positive results against Australia is the addition of ammunition from new players. The entry of Ole Romeny (forward), Dean James (left back), Joey Mathijs Pelupessy (midfielder), and Emil Audero Mulyadi (goalkeeper), adds to the strength of the Garuda team.

Based on the composition of the existing players, Indonesia and Australia are in a position that is almost balanced in terms of market value. According to Transfermarkt records, the market value of the Indonesian squad after the entry of the latest naturalized players is IDR 634.86 billion, almost balanced with the market value of the Australian squad of IDR 677.88 billion. This market value describes the quality of each player in the national team. The better the player's performance, the higher the player's market value.

This market value figure shows that Indonesia can compete with Australia in terms of the quality of current players. Moreover, Indonesia has the same number of goals as Australia throughout the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which is six goals. This proves that Indonesia has the opportunity to be able to provide resistance to Australia.

Third, another opportunity that Patrick Kluivert can take advantage of is the positive trend of the national team. Previously, Indonesia was able to beat Saudi Arabia with a score of 2-0. This victory is another spirit for Indonesian players to perform better when facing Australia. These three aspects plus the spirit of young energy (average age 25.5 years) are the main capital for the Indonesian national team to be able to record a new history. If they succeed in winning, then this will be Indonesia's first victory at Australia's home ground.

The next aspect that Indonesia must also take advantage of is the imbalance of the Australian squad. Compared to Indonesia, Australia has to lose more key players due to injury. If you look at the announcement of the Australian squad to face Indonesia, there are at least 11 players absent.

Australia even had to let go of three main defenders, namely Alessandro Circati (Parma), Harry Souttar (Sheffield United), and Jordan Bos (K.V.C. Westerlo). In fact, young player Nestory Irankunda who played in the Swiss League was also not called by Australian tactician, Tony Popovic. This squad imbalance was widely criticized by Australian football fans. Popovic was even considered not serious about leading Australia to penetrate the 2026 World Cup finals.

However, Indonesia must remain wary of Australia. Learning from the defeat in the previous match against China, an open game still needs to be accompanied by player discipline in every line. Moreover, Australia is still strengthened by a number of mainstay players. One of them is Kusini Yengi who has scored two goals for Australia in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

In addition, there is also the name Craig Goodwin. This left winger was very troublesome for Indonesia in the match at Gelora Bung Karno in September 2024. Midfielder Jackson Irvine is also worth watching out for because he often becomes the driving force of Australia's game, which is able to break the concentration of opposing defenders. Without game discipline, Australia remains a nightmare for the Indonesian national team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals. (LITBANG KOMPAS)