Calvin Verdonk Believes In The Indonesian National Team To Win Against Bahrain

Calvin Verdonk (left) is optimistic that the Indonesian national team can win against Bahrain (doc. PSSI).

JAKARTA - The Indonesian national team has again held a training at the Madya Stadium, Jakarta, on Saturday, March 22, 2025, after arriving from Australia the day before.

The Garuda squad must prepare for the match against Bahrain which was held at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in Group C of the Third Round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification.

The exercise led by coach Patrick Kluivert was attended by 26 players. The three players who missed training were Mees Hilgers, Sandy Walsh, and Ole Romeny.

Previously, the Indonesian national team had actually held training at the same place on Friday, March 21, 2025. However, the training was only attended by three goalkeepers, namely Emil Audero, Ernando Ari, and Nadeo Argawinata.

The Garuda squad has a high target against Bahrain. They float optimism to gain three points at home while at the same time affirming the revival after losing 1-5 to Australia.

This optimism was also expressed by the Indonesian national team defender, Calvin Verdok, who wanted the Garuda Squad to improve its position in Group C standings for the Third Round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification.

Verdonk assessed that the Indonesian national team's performance was good against Australia. There are only a few mistakes that need to be corrected in order to achieve maximum results against Bahrain.

"I think we started well in Australia. We have total control in the game."

"Because we made our own mistakes, they won. Let's hope for a better result against Bahrain."

"We have to be better in the set-pieces. This is also related to the attitude we show in the set-pieces."

"If we can win duels in set-pieces, the enemy can't win. So, we have to be better in set-pieces," said Calvin Verdink.

Currently, the Indonesian national team has dropped to fourth place in Group C standings by winning six points. Saudi Arabia evicted the Garuda squad from third place after winning 1-0 over China and is now packing nine points.

Meanwhile, Japan has confirmed it will qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals. They became the first team to get the ticket after winning 2-0 over Bahrain.

Then Australia is in second place with a collection of nine points. Bahrain is in fifth place followed by China with six points, the same as the Indonesian national team.