Indonesia narrowly defeated Bahrain, dreaming of attending the 2026 World Cup

Coach Patrick Kluivert made four changes to the starting lineup from the 1-5 loss to Australia in the previous round, but 10 of the 11 Indonesian players on the field are playing in professional leagues in Europe and North America. His Bahrain team colleague, coach Dragan Talajic, had anticipated this situation and sensed the difficulties awaiting his students at Bung Karno Stadium.

Indonesia plays with determination at home Bung Karno Stadium

The Croatian coach clearly understood that the host Indonesia was determined to win this match at all costs, as if to "avenge" the 2-2 draw in Riffa in October 2024. At that time, Bahrain scored the final equalizer in the 90+9 minute even though only 6 minutes were added to the second half.

With home advantage and a squad of European stars, Indonesia quickly took control of the match. Every attack by the red-shirted players received the support of tens of thousands of home fans. In the 24th minute, receiving a long pass from the home field, Marselino Ferdinan made a cross as if setting up a table for Ole Romenij to make a low shot, defeating goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla who was too slow to close the angle.

Two players playing in England, Marselino Ferdinan (7) and Ole Romenij, combined to score.

Romenij is only 24 years old and plays for Oxford United in the English First Division. Having only made two appearances for his new country Indonesia (born in the Netherlands), Romenij has scored twice for the team after scoring a consolation goal in a 5-1 defeat to Australia.

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After the break, if center back Rizky Ridho - the only player playing domestically - had to head the ball right on the Indonesian goal line, on the opposite side of the field, "prodigy" Marselino Ferdinan failed twice in just over 15 minutes at the beginning of the second half.

Even the younger brother of AC Milan and Dutch national team star Tijjaani Reijnders, Eliano Reijnders, shot the ball into the air in a face-to-face situation with goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla, just a few minutes after entering the field in the 76th minute.

Indonesia revives hopes of play-off ticket

Winning 1-0, Indonesia had their first victory under new head coach Patrick Kluivert and won 3 full points for the second time in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup - Asia region after eight matches.

The Indonesian team currently has 9 points, just 1 point behind the fourth-placed Saudi Arabia. If they can get 3 more points in the last two matches against China and Japan, Indonesia's chance of winning a play-off ticket to the World Cup will be wide open.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/indonesia-thang-nhe-bahrain-om-mong-du-world-cup-2026-196250325225437125.htm