Patrick Kluivert's Pragmatism Key to Indonesia Keeping Its Dream of the 2026 World Cup

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Forget the hope of playing total football by the Indonesian national team with Patrick Kluivert. The most important thing for Kluivert right now is to bring the "Garuda" squad to the 2026 World Cup with a playing style that can guarantee a bigger win.

Indonesia secured two consecutive victories at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta, with a minimal score of 1-0. Bahrain was defeated last March, and on Thursday (5/6/2025), it was China's turn to return empty-handed.

In those two matches, Indonesia played very pragmatically. Bahrain and China recorded ball possession superiority for the first time in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup while competing in Jakarta.

Nevertheless, Indonesia is more dominant in creating dangerous opportunities. Three significant chances were presented by the Garuda squad against Bahrain and China, while those two teams could only create one best opportunity in Indonesia's defense.

Kluivert acknowledges that he does not prioritize a consistently attacking style of play for Indonesia. His goal is not to change the playing approach of Jay Idzes and his teammates, but rather to deliver positive results to pave the way for the grand stage of football in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, next year.

"We are indeed not dominant in the match in terms of ball possession. For me, the most important thing is to achieve a positive final result. Playing in a comfortable style is important, but the main thing is to win and qualify for the World Cup," said Kluivert at the press conference after the match against China.

The two pragmatic gameplay approaches were evident when Indonesia was already leading in the first half. From the crucial victories over Bahrain and China that were significant for Indonesia's advancement to the fourth round, this underscores that Kluivert has yet to provide an original touch.

The style of play exhibited by the Garuda squad alongside Kluivert resembles an evolution of the philosophy established with the previous coach, Shin Tae-yong. This is certainly logical, as Indonesia's attacking play, with a record of 60 percent ball possession, resulted in a 1-5 defeat against Australia last March.

Kluivert continues Shin's tradition with an initial 3-4-3 formation that shifts to a 5-4-1 when out of possession. Indonesia's attacking pattern is more focused on both flanks under the guidance of the two coaches.

The difference is that Shin emphasizes quick counterattacks from both flanks. Meanwhile, Kluivert demands that his squad be bold in maintaining possession of the ball for a longer duration, pivoting around two central midfielders, Thom Haye and Joey Pelupessy.

The presence of Thom, in particular, who can deliver progressive passes, requires wingers and forwards to move and exploit the space between the opposing defenders.

This condition allows attacking players to become targets for precise breakthrough passes in order to create dangerous attacking momentum for Indonesia. Thom produced three key passes during his 74 minutes on the field in the match against China.

"Our ball possession was not dominant, but the players felt more comfortable when controlling the ball. They were able to make good use of ball possession to create specific moments that resulted in threats," said Kluivert regarding the development of his team's collective play in the game against China.

Effective attacking without dominant ball possession is an important asset for Indonesia to compete in the fourth round. Among the five teams that will advance to the fourth round, Indonesia is the team with minimal ball possession.

Until the eighth game of the third round, Indonesia recorded an average ball possession of only 45.4 percent. Indonesia only achieved a better average ball possession than two teams eliminated in Group C, namely Bahrain and China, as well as Kyrgyzstan in Group A.

Three other teams that have secured their places in the fourth round have an average ball possession of up to 60 percent. They are Iraq (61.4 percent), Qatar (60.6 percent), and Saudi Arabia (60.6 percent).

Another team that has the opportunity to add to its collection with super dominant ball possession is Oman. However, Oman, which is currently in fourth place in Group B, is not yet secure in qualifying for the fourth round. Oman (10 points) is still competing for the remaining spot against Palestine (9 points).

Oman has an average ball possession of 63.9 percent. This record is only inferior to South Korea (75.9 percent) and Japan (69 percent).

The two teams that have advanced to the fourth round, namely Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, recorded ball possession rates of 56.7 percent and 50 percent per match, respectively.

"We will strive to play better in the fourth round. We were unfortunate in the match against South Korea, thus our desire to qualify directly for the World Cup was not achieved," said Jalal Hassan, the goalkeeper of Iraq, as reported by the FIFA website.

The defender and captain of Indonesia, Jay Idzes, emphasized that the spirit of collectivism is the greatest asset of the Garuda squad in their fight for one of the two direct tickets to the 2026 World Cup from the fourth round.

In addition to facing a Middle Eastern team with dominant ball possession, Indonesia also has a great opportunity to play in the Arabian Peninsula during the fourth round, which will be centralized in two countries according to the division of two groups. The fourth round will take place from October 8 to 14, 2025.

"We play for the supporters and fight for the emblem on our chests. That is why we work very hard as a team," said Jay.