Southeast Asian newspaper points out the sad reality of the Indonesian team under Kluivert

(Dan Tri) - Indonesia's heavy 1-5 defeat to Australia could cause the Southeast Asian team to lose their dream of participating in the 2026 World Cup. This defeat is also a heavy blow to the great ambitions of the team from the archipelago country.

Right after the match between Indonesia and Australia last night (March 20), Thailand's leading sports daily Siam Sport wrote: "Dutch coach Patrick Kluivert's debut match with the Indonesian team was a heavy defeat."

"The Indonesian team led by Mr. Kluivert was crushed by Australia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers," Siam Sport added.

Báo Đông Nam Á chỉ ra thực tế buồn của tuyển Indonesia dưới thời Kluivert - 1 — Indonesia lost heavily to Australia in the World Cup qualifiers (Photo: AFC).

Coach Patrick Kluivert came to the Indonesian national team earlier this year with high expectations. The President of the Indonesian Football Federation, despite all objections, appointed Mr. Kluivert as the head coach of the national team, with the hope that this coach will help the team of thousands of islands transform.

However, the result against Australia was like a bucket of cold water poured on coach Kluivert in particular and Indonesian football in general.

Siam Sport continued to share its opinion: "This is a memorable debut for the Dutch football legend. However, it was a memorable memory in an undesirable way, Indonesia lost 1-5 to the kangaroo team."

"Indonesia currently only has 6 points after 7 matches in Group C of the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, but they are 4 points behind the second-placed team Australia," is still the line written in Thailand's leading sports daily.

Meanwhile, the very famous English newspaper in Malaysia, New Straits Times, said: "The Indonesian team suffered a 1-5 defeat against Australia in the World Cup qualifiers."

Báo Đông Nam Á chỉ ra thực tế buồn của tuyển Indonesia dưới thời Kluivert - 2 — Coach Kluivert's team was disappointing (Photo: AFP).

"Last night's defeat prevented Dutch legend Patrick Kluivert's team from getting any closer to qualifying for the World Cup. This was also the coach's first defeat in his first time in charge of the Indonesian team.

The heavy defeat to Australia has led to increased criticism of coach Kluivert. Mr. Kluivert was only appointed as head coach of the Indonesian team in January this year, replacing coach Shin Tae Yong (Korean)," New Straits Times added.

As for the Singaporean newspaper The Straits Times , this newspaper analyzed the reason for Indonesia's failure, which was due to the lack of cohesion of the team. Indonesia's squad had many players playing in Europe, but the coordination was not good.

The Straits Times commented: "The Indonesian team visited Australia with only one pure domestic player in the starting lineup. This team continues to favor the group of players born in the Netherlands".

"The Indonesian team has only had a total of three training sessions under coach Patrick Kluivert, since he took charge of the archipelago nation in January this year," Singapore's leading English-language daily newspaper emphasized.

After 7 matches, Indonesia has only 6 points in Group C of the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia. The opportunity to win a ticket to the World Cup finals of the team under coach Patrick Kluivert is being strongly challenged.