The Indonesian National Team Must Rise Immediately

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – The captain of the Indonesian National Team, Jay Idzes, stated that his team had to immediately recover after suffering a crushing 0-4 defeat to Japan at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK), Jakarta, Friday (15/11/2024). This result makes Indonesia the only team in Group C that has not recorded a win in the third round of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

This defeat is the second for squad Garuda from five matches in this phase. Even worse, this result was Indonesia’s first defeat at home after previously holding Australia to a 0-0 draw last September.

“We are very disappointed, especially facing a very tough opponent like Japan. However, now is not the time to think about the results, but rather how we can recover quickly,” said Idzes after the match.

Despite losing by a big score, Indonesia actually showed improvement compared to their previous meeting against Japan in the 2023 Asian Cup which ended 1-3. In this match, Indonesia created a number of dangerous opportunities, but poor final finishing meant that none of them resulted in goals.

Garuda’s best chance came in the eighth minute through Ragnar Oratmangoen who came face to face with Japanese goalkeeper, Zion Suzuki. However, the Parma club goalkeeper managed to thwart Ragnar’s attempt to prevent Indonesia from scoring the opening goal.

On the defensive side, Indonesia was able to make it difficult for Japan to create meaningful opportunities at the start of the match. Samurai Blue’s first attack on target only occurred in the 23rd minute through Daichi Kamada’s shot.

“We never give up and will never lose hope,” said Idzes, a defender who now plays for Italian club Venezia.

Unfortunately, basic mistakes from Indonesian players gave Japan a big advantage. Japan’s second goal came as a result of Yakob Sayuri’s wrong anticipation, while the third goal came from goalkeeper Maarten Paes’ wrong pass.

The fourth goal was created due to weak coordination at the back, which was exploited by Yukinari Sugawa to ensure Japan’s victory.

“We made a lot of mistakes, including me. This defeat should be a reflection to improve ourselves. There is still a chance in the next match,” said Idzes.

Idzes also expressed his appreciation to the around 60,000 supporters who packed SUGBK that night. He hopes that the extraordinary support from Garuda supporters can return when Indonesia hosts Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (19/11/2024).

“The presence of supporters gives us extraordinary energy. We always feel love from them, and we want to return the favor by providing the best results. I hope that can be realized in the next match,” concluded Idzes, who idolizes the Dutch national team’s mainstay defender, Virgil van Dijk.