Jay Idzes: No Matter Where We Were Born, We Struggled To Defend The Same Color

Jay Idzes emphasized that all Indonesian national team players are fighting together for the 2026 World Cup dream (doc. PSSI).

JAKARTA - When the Indonesian national team was pushed by the diaspora to target a place in the 2026 World Cup finals, the captain Jay Idzes had a clear view that the players born and raised in Indonesia and naturalized in the squad were united for the same purpose and loyalty.

Of the 29 players who entered the first squad of Patrick Kluivert, only 10 local players. The rest were taken from the diaspora.

Most of them were recruited during Shin Tae-yong's tenure. However, four names, goalkeeper Emil Audero, left-back Dean James, midfielder Joey Pelupessy, and striker Ole Romeny, were all called up for the first time.

This is a recruitment strategy that has sparked significant debate in Indonesia.

On the one hand, the sudden entry of European-born players of Indonesian descent has increased the results of the Garuda Squad and gave him hope to qualify for the first World Cup since independence.

Indeed, there are concerns that the dependence on players developed abroad is at risk of hampering the development path of young players who are still new if not handled.

This view was recently shared by the pioneer of the naturalization path that is now being carried out, Sergio van Dijk.

However, that view was tried to be removed by Jay Idzes. Born in the Netherlands, he chose to represent the motherland of the mother by the end of 2023 and debuted in the following March.

For defender Venezia, who has since captained Team Garuda, which is far more important than the birthplace of Indonesian players is their willingness to fight and do their job.

"I think the federation (PSSI) is doing a great job by attracting new players to play with the Indonesian national team, play for their families, and play for their country."

"For me, my message is that when new players come, even though we come from different parts of the world, we are born in different places, we are still fighting for the same color. We still have the duty to defend and represent the country."

"The new players who come have been very well integrated into this group."

"I think the atmosphere and group are very good," said Jay Idzes.

Given the large number of players developed in the Dutch academy and other European academies in the ranks of Indonesian players, this season marks the first time the technical and physical level of Indonesian players have been able to beat the more seeded opponents.

Under Shin Tae-yong, they survive with a 0-0 draw with Australia in Jakarta, September 2024.

In November 2024, they made history by beating Saudi Arabia 2-0 at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium.

Although he quickly explained that the match against Australia (loss 1-5) on March 20, 2025 was a significant new tough test, Idzes said the result showed a standard increase.

"We have shown (during) last year, maybe a little more, that Indonesia is a country that must be faced," said the defender.

"We show it in this group. You can see we are developing and building within the organization," said Jay Idzes again.

Next, Jay Idzes and colleagues are preparing to rise when they host Bahrain at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.

In the inaugural meeting at Riffa, the Garuda Squad almost got three points if Bahrain didn't have a controversial goal in the final injury time.

Therefore, the Indonesian national team is eyeing full points in front of its own supporters to mark the revival and at the same time maintain hope.

The opportunity for the Indonesian national team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup is still wide open. Currently, Patrick Kluivert's team is in fourth place in Group C standings for the 2026 World Cup Qualification Third Round with a collection of six points.

They are three points apart from Australia and Saudi Arabia on the second and third stairs after seven matches.

Japan can no longer be bothered at the top of the standings with 19 points (six wins and one draw). Samurai Blue is also the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals.