REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia national team manager Sumardji asked Garuda supporters to be patient with Patrick Kluivert. The Dutch coach swallowed a painful 1-5 defeat on his debut match with Indonesia against Australia in the seventh match of Group C of the Third Round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifier Asia Zone at Sydney Football Stadium on Thursday (20/3/2025).
“Be patient, be patient. Everything will definitely show results when people believe and the team works hard,” Sumardji said when he met the media crew on the sidelines of national training at Madya Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Saturday (22/3/2025) afternoon.
The big defeat in Sydney had the Patrick Kluivert out hashtag echoing on social media. However, Sumardji asked the public to give time to the Dutch coach, who will play his second match against Bahrain at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta, on Tuesday (25/3/2025).
At the match, Sumardji asked the fans to continue to believe and unite to support Garuda. Victory in the match will be crucial to keeping alive Indonesia's dream of the 2026 World Cup.
“I think we have to believe first, yes, we have to believe first. If we talk about the process it is not possible because what we are pursuing is towards the World Cup,” he explained.
“When it comes to the demands of society, I think people hold first, hold first. We give full confidence to the coaching team so that the coaching team and the whole team are really fighting hard towards the expectations of our dreams,” he said.
“For this team to really prepare for the game that has a few days left is really good,” he continued.
Meanwhile, regarding this hashtag, Sumardji says Kluivert knows it too. He said the Dutch coach had nothing to worry about.
“We are friends, we are brothers, we are a team. We have to prepare this team as well as possible. There is no need to ignore everything outside, it was really the focus of the team to face yesterday,” he said in revealing the talks with Kluivert.
Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika