Patrick Kluivert: Japan is "Too Big" For The Indonesian National Team

JAKARTA - The Indonesian National Team (Timnas) coach, Patrick Kluivert, called Japan "too big" for the Garuda Squad.

He made this response after his troops lost 0-6 to the Blue Samurai in the last match of the 2026 World Cup Qualification Third Round at Suita Stadium, Osaka, Tuesday, June 10, 2025.

Japan, which is ranked 15th in the world, destroyed Indonesia, which is ranked 123 in the world.

Not only winning, Japan also fully dominated the match with 22 total shots and did not provide a single shot for Indonesia.

"Japan is too big for us. We have to admit it and keep going," Kluiver said at a press conference after the game.

Kluivert further said that his foster children were able to play Japanese games in the first 10 minutes. However, Japan's quality as a World Cup subscription team made the Garuda Squad not move afterwards.

Daichi Kamada (15', 45+5') and Takefusa Kubo (19') gave Japan a three-goal lead in the first half. In the second half, Kluiver made changes, but did not significantly change the course of the match.

The Blue Samurai children added three more goals in the second half through Ryoya Morishita (55'), Shuto Machino (58'), and Mao Hoskya (80').

"I think the first few minutes we were fine. However, this team, I also said yesterday, had a lot of quality."

"This is the level of the World Cup. That's right. Individually and collectively. Great team. What else can I say? Of course I am very disappointed with the results. Also for the country, Indonesia," said the Dutch coach.

This defeat is Indonesia's third defeat to Japan since 2024. From those three matches, Indonesia conceded 13 times and was only able to score one goal.

Meanwhile, Sandy Walsh scored one goal when the Garuda squad lost 1-3 to the Blue Samurai in the 2023 Asian Cup, January 2024.

Apart from that, the 2026 World Cup is the eighth World Cup for Wataru Endo and his friends since their debut in 1998.

Their best achievement in the grandest football tournament was reaching the last 16 four times in 2002, 2010, 2018, and 2022.