Naturalized Indonesian star responds to Bahrain coach's criticism

Defender Justin Hubner publicly responded to coach Dragan Talajic (Bahrain) - Photo: Bola

In an interview with Bola Sports (Indonesia) after the match, Justin Hubner said: "Before the match, they were talking and criticizing us. But now we have silenced them with a great victory. I feel great! Indonesia's chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup is still there. We will do our best to achieve our goal."

Before this match, coach Dragan Talajic (Bahrain) bluntly criticized the Indonesian team as not... Indonesian, but full of naturalized players.

"I have watched many Indonesian matches. They always have new players but they are not Indonesian, they are from the Netherlands or England, there is absolutely no Indonesian. It is surprising that Indonesia has nearly 300 million people but needs a lot of players from the Netherlands," said Dragan Talajic.

Justin Hubner also spoke about the difference in Patrick Kluivert's coaching style, compared to his predecessor Shin Tae Yong.

"Everything is different, we are having to work hard to adapt to new tactics and training styles. It's a bit difficult but everyone is trying," said Hubner.

With the victory over Bahrain, Indonesia temporarily ranked 4th in Group C with 9 points, goal difference -6. In theory, Indonesia still has a chance to directly qualify for the 2026 World Cup, when it is only 4 points behind the second team, Australia (13 points, goal difference +7).

But this chance is very low, so Indonesia's goal is to maintain 4th place to win a place in the play-off round.

In the remaining two matches of Group C, Indonesia will meet China at home at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on June 5 and visit Japan on June 10.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/sao-nhap-tich-indonesia-dap-tra-chi-trich-cua-hlv-bahrain-20250326101428567.htm