Proof of Indonesian National Team to Level Up in Front of Japan

SUITA, MONDAY — The saying goes, "nothing is impossible in football." However, the Indonesian national football team must set realistic ambitions when facing Japan on Tuesday (10/6/2025) at 17:35 WIB, at the Suita City Football Stadium, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The "Garuda" team must at least avoid defeat in this match to demonstrate that their level and quality have improved in the competition in Asia.

Japan, which Jay Idzes and his teammates will face in the final match of Group C in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, will not field its strongest lineup. Although there are still well-known names such as Wataru Endo, Daichi Kamada, and Takefusa Kubo, Japan's coach Hajime Moriyasu has not included other key players like Hiroki Ito, Takumi Minamino, Junya Ito, Ritsu Doan, Kaora Motoma, and Hidemasa Morita.

The situation is certainly different in Indonesia. Indonesia's coach Patrick Kluivert brought 30 of the best players who are active in European leagues, Asian leagues, and the BRI Liga 1 Indonesia 2024-2025. The Garuda team is only missing Ragnar Oratmangoen, Sandy Walsh, and Eliano Reijnders. However, this has proven not to diminish the quality of Indonesia's performance in the match against China on Thursday (5/6/2025).

The situation means that Indonesia actually does not experience a very unequal team quality gap, although the Japanese "reserve" squad still leads the list of the most expensive squads in Asia with IDR 2.7 trillion if referring to Transfermarkt. Meanwhile, the Indonesian squad is worth IDR 528 billion.

However, Indonesia has players who are equally experienced in competing at the highest level. There is Jay Idzes, who regularly plays in Italy's Serie A. Then, Thom Haye, Calvin Verdonk, Mees Hilgers, and Dean James are key players for their team in the Dutch League. Not to be overlooked, Kevin Diks is a mainstay for FC Copenhagen in the Danish League.

Indonesia also has the advantage of two formidable goalkeepers, Emil Audero and Maarten Paes, who can bolster the Garuda squad's confidence in facing the relentless onslaught from Japan.

Players in Indonesia's Liga 1 do not want to miss the opportunity to showcase their quality in the match against Japan. These players will demonstrate that the ball is indeed round. Anything can happen in the 90 minutes of battle on the green field.

I am sure we will show something interesting to prove the (quality) of the game. - Patrick Kluivert -

Kluivert considers the match against Japan to be very important for his team. The duel against Japan, the best team in Group C that has already secured a place in the main round of the 2026 World Cup, serves as a crucial test for Indonesia to continue their fantastic trend following two consecutive victories, namely against Bahrain and China.

"Of course not (a relaxed match against Japan). This will be a serious battle. The match will be very difficult, but we will fight with our best abilities to achieve a good result," said Kluivert at the press conference ahead of the match at the Suita City Football Stadium, Monday (9/6/2025) afternoon WIB.

Another advantage that Indonesia has ahead of the match in Suita is that the results of the match do not affect the target of advancing to the fourth round. After defeating China and following Bahrain's defeat to Saudi Arabia, the Garuda squad is already assured of extending their journey to the fourth round to compete for the remaining two tickets to the main stage of the 2026 World Cup.

Thus, Indonesian players should play without burden. Their task is to prove that Indonesia is no longer a mediocre team in the Asian region. Japan can no longer defeat Indonesia by an absolute goal margin.

"Japan has already qualified for the World Cup, and we are also advancing to the next round. Nevertheless, I am confident that we will present something interesting to prove the (quality of) our game," said Kluivert.

In the history of appearances at the Suita City Football Stadium during World Cup qualifiers, the "Blue Samurai," as Japan is nicknamed, is enveloped in a positive trend. Under the management of Moriyasu, Japan has appeared four times in Suita during pre-World Cup events.

As a result, Japan recorded three victories and suffered one defeat. A total of 14 goals have been scored by the Blue Samurai. They conceded only three goals. They defeated two teams that were part of the former Soviet Union, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, with scores of 4-1 and 5-1 in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in June 2021.

The winning trend at the stadium, which is the home ground of Gamba Osaka, was briefly halted when Japan lost 0-1 to Oman in September 2021 during the qualification for the 2022 World Cup. Most recently, Japan crushed Southeast Asian representatives Myanmar 5-0 in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualification in November 2023.

Joey Pelupessy, the Indonesian defensive midfielder, is also eager to bring home a positive result in the final match of the third round. "We want to showcase an exciting game. We have been looking forward to playing the match tomorrow (Tuesday)," said Joey.

Meanwhile, Moriyasu wants to create a special impression as a conclusion to their journey in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup at home. After securing a place in the main round of the 2026 World Cup by topping Group C, Japan's performance has somewhat declined. They were held to a draw by Saudi Arabia at home, and then suffered their first defeat during the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign against Australia.

"Our main goal is to end this qualifying round with a victory, so that we can provide a sweet closure for our supporters," said Moriyasu at the press conference ahead of the match.

Furthermore, Wataru Endo, the midfielder and captain of Japan, is optimistic that his team, which is predominantly composed of young players with an average age of 24.5 years, will deliver an impressive performance.

"I am confident that all players will perform aggressively for a positive result. This is important for us to push each other in order to develop both individually and as a team," said Endo.