Kluivert's ambition and Indonesian football
On January 11, Dutch football legend Patrick Kluivert arrived in Indonesia to be introduced as head coach. Kluivert was welcomed at Soekarno Hatta Airport (Indonesia's capital, Jakarta) by officials from the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI), reporters, and thousands of Indonesian fans.
After a day of rest, this afternoon (January 12), PSSI held a press conference to introduce Kluivert. The Dutch coach will start work early next week, with the ambition of leading Indonesia to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. This is also the goal that PSSI President Erick Thohir assigned to Coach Kluivert.
PSSI welcomes coach Patrick Kluivert
"I will achieve my goal. The players and I share the same great ambition (to attend the 2026 World Cup)," coach Patrick Kluivert told the press.
The Indonesian team is currently ranked third in Group C of the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. After 6 matches, Marselino Ferdinan and his teammates have 6 points with 1 win (2-0 against Saudi Arabia), 3 draws (1-1 against Saudi Arabia, 0-0 against Australia, 2-2 against Bahrain) and 2 losses (1-2 against China, 0-4 against Japan).
The 6 points earned put Indonesia just 1 point behind second-placed Australia. To qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup, Indonesia needs to finish first or second in the group. If they finish third or fourth, the archipelago nation will enter the play-off round (a total of 6 teams competing for 2.5 tickets). When coach Shin Tae-yong was in charge, Indonesia's goal was to finish third or fourth to enter the play-off round.
"My goal with Indonesia is to play well in the remaining four matches," coach Patrick Kluivert affirmed.
Indonesia return to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in March, with a trip to Australia (match seven), before returning home to face Bahrain (match eight). If they can beat China and Bahrain in their remaining two home matches, Indonesia will almost certainly make it to at least the play-off round.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/huyen-thoai-bong-da-ha-lan-tuyen-bo-phai-dua-indonesia-den-world-cup-2026-18525011217054296.htm
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