Indonesian newspaper: Coach Kluivert meets tragic end

"Patrick Kluivert's debut as Indonesia coach ended tragically. Indonesia were defeated 1-5 by Australia in the seventh match of the third round of the 2025 World Cup qualifiers," Bola.com wrote after the home team's defeat.

Bola Sport said that in the first match, Kluivert made many mistakes, causing Indonesia to concede 5 goals in Australia. This defeat dealt a heavy blow to Indonesia's ambition to win a ticket to the 2026 World Cup. Right now, Kluivert and his team have fallen into a very narrow door to get a ticket to go straight. Indonesian media is concerned that the players will be affected psychologically after this match.

Going into Indonesia's latest match, Bola.com analyzed that coach Kluivert has not changed much for the team compared to Shin Tae-yong's time. The Dutch coach still arranged the 3-4-3 formation, keeping the familiar players. Ole Romeny and Dean James are the two new factors for Indonesia in this match.

As Kluivert had previously stated, Indonesia played more proactively on the offensive from this stage. On Australia's field, the team from the archipelago entered the game proactively, almost scoring an early goal. However, towards the end of the match, Indonesia lost steam as their level was inferior to Australia's. Bola.com asserted that compared to coach Shin, Indonesia under Kluivert played defense with less concentration and was not as tenacious.

Many Indonesian newspapers still have words of encouragement for Kluivert, saying that the Dutch strategist needs time to operate the team's playing style smoothly. On the contrary, Indonesian fans are angry with Kluivert. On social networks, many Indonesian fans have criticized and demanded Kluivert's dismissal.

Indonesia was helpless on the Australian field. Photo: Getty.

Coach Kluivert has been under heavy pressure since accepting to lead Indonesia. Most Indonesians still have "strong feelings" for Coach Shin, as the Korean strategist still did a good job with the team, helping Indonesia compete for a place in the 2026 World Cup, before being suddenly fired.

After losing to Australia, Indonesia is far from the position of qualifying directly for the 2026 World Cup. Coach Kluivert and his team are 4 points behind Australia. Indonesia has 6 points with Saudi Arabia but has played one more match. With the current situation, Coach Kluivert and his team need to think about a more practical goal of maintaining a position in the top 4 to enter the 4th qualifying round.

Huong Ly