Jay Idzes Affirms The Struggle Of The Indonesian National Team Is Not Over

Indonesian football national team captain Jay Idzes. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Indonesian national team captain Jay Idzes emphasized that his team's struggle in getting tickets to the 2026 World Cup has not ended even though it is now more difficult to realize that dream.

Indonesia lost 2-3 to Saudi Arabia in the first match of Group B of the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification in the Asian zone at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium, Jeddah, Wednesday, October 8.

This defeat made Indonesia at the bottom of the Gruo B standings and their only chance to qualify only to beat Iraq in the last match played tomorrow, Sunday, October 12 at 02.30 WIB at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium.

"It's not over yet. Tomorrow we will go again, together as one. We are people who believe, we are Indonesia," said the Sassuolo player in his Instagram account, quoted by Antara.

Idzes played his 15th match with Indonesia in that night's match, all of which were started and never replaced once.

In that match, he played central defender with a duet with Kevin Diks.

Sofascore noted that while on the field, Idzes carried out seven sweeps, twice blocked kicks, once tackled, one field duel victory, and five air duel wins.

In addition, the 25-year-old centre-back also made 59 touches, 46 passes with an 83 percent accuracy, one key pass, three successful long passes, one shot on target, and one golden opportunity was missed.

Meanwhile, Marc Klok said the same thing, who also appeared as a starter and played full-fledged like Idzes.

Klok, who has been called back after a long time, played his second game under Patrick Kluivert's coaching era against Saudis.

This is the 21st match between the Persib Bandung captain and the Garuda team since their debut against Bangladesh in June 2022.

"The final game of the results is not as expected, but the struggle is not over yet," Klok said in his Instagram account on Saturday.

"We will continue to fight for tomorrow. We will continue to move forward together with our heads held high," he added.