REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JEDDAH -- Indonesian national team coach Patrick Kluivert hopes Calvin Verdonk will recover soon so that he can play against Iraq on Sunday (12/10/2025) at 2:30pm at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium, Jeddah. This was said by Kluivert at a press conference after the 2-3 defeat to Saudi Arabia in the first match of the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers in the Asian zone on Thursday, WIB. In that match, Verdonk did not play due to a minor injury.
“I hope his injury recovery will be good to play against Iraq. Hopefully that's possible, but we'll have to see day by day how his injury will be evaluated,” Kluivert said.
“Let's hope so, because in three days we will face another final. We give our best, as always,” he added.
The injury left Verdonk out of 23 players against Saudi Arabia. He became one of six players eliminated, alongside Ramadhan Sananta, Reza Arya, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, Egy Maulana Vikri, and Jordi Amat. When revealing what the Lille player experienced, Kluivert said he had a thigh injury.
“The Lille doctor and the national team doctor have very good contact. Unfortunately, he couldn't play in this match because there was a tear in his thigh,” he explained of Verdonk's injury.
Verdonk suffered the injury against Roma in a Europa League match on Thursday. In that match, Verdonk played 69 minutes and was replaced by Romain Perraud in a match which his team won 1—0.
The injury saw the Dutch-born player miss out on Lille coach Bruno Genesio in a big game against Paris Saint-Germain in the French league on Monday. Meanwhile, the match against Iraq will be a “life to die” match for Indonesia.
Garuda still has an automatic chance of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, but losing to Saudi Arabia thinned those chances.
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