Australia's Injury Storm Doesn't Make Patrick Kluiver Careless

Patrick Kluivert did not want to be careless even though Australia was hit by an injury storm (doc. AFC).

JAKARTA - The coach of the Indonesian national team, Patrick Kluivert, did not want to be provoked by Australia's situation which was hit by a storm of injuries.

He wants the Garuda Squad to remain focused on the 2026 World Cup Qualification continued meeting.

The Indonesian national team will visit Australia headquarters on Thursday, March 20, 2025, at 16.10 WIB. Ahead of this match, eight key players were recorded as injured.

They are Harry Souttar, chancey Irankunda, Jordan Bos, Thomas Deng, Riley McGree,ctional Metcalfe, Hayden Matthews, and Alessandro Circati.

Regarding Australia's situation, Patrick Kluiver does not want to be influenced. According to him, The Socceroos still deserves to be wary of the existing players.

"Star players who are absent have no impact because everyone is aware that important players are in the squad," said Patrick Kluiver in a press conference session ahead of the match, Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

Although many Australian star players are absent, Kluiver realizes that other players called Tony Popovic as an alternative have high quality. Therefore, he did not want to be underestimated by the opposing team who was crippled.

"The players who just had the opportunity and we only focus on our team and respect the opponent," he said.

Optimism was also conveyed by the captain of the Indonesian national team, Jay Idzes. He wants Indonesia to remain a team that is increasingly feared by opponents in line with significant developments in recent years.

"The answer is in tomorrow's match. We have proven ourselves for the past year that Indonesia should be a respected country against Australia or other countries, including Saudi Arabia."

"I'm just trying to focus on tasks every day, about what to do. This match is very valuable to us. We hope for nothing but the best results," Jay Idzes said on the same occasion.

This match is important for both teams struggling for the 2026 World Cup. You see, only leaders and runners-up in the standings are entitled to a direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

While the third and fourth ranked residents will advance to the Fourth Round of Qualification.

Currently, the Group C standings is still controlled by Japan with 16 points. In second place is Australia with seven points, followed by Indonesia in third place with six points.

Furthermore, there are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and China where they have the same points as Indonesia.