Dragan Talajic (60), the coach of the Bahrain national football team, attracted attention with comments targeting the Indonesian national team.
Under Talajic's leadership, Bahrain will play against Indonesia in the away match of the C group in the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, on the 25th at 10:45 p.m. Korea time.
It is a match that both Bahrain and Indonesia cannot afford to lose. With Japan (19 points) having already confirmed their place in the World Cup finals in a dominant manner, both teams need a victory to secure the remaining direct ticket to the finals.
Indonesia is fourth, and Bahrain is fifth. However, both teams have the same score of 6 points. If they do not win this match, it will be difficult to catch up with second-placed Australia (10 points) and third-placed Saudi Arabia (9 points).
In this context, Coach Talajic raised questions about Indonesia's squad during a press conference held the day before (24th). He pointed out that most of the Indonesian national team consists of naturalized players rather than those of pure Indonesian descent.
Talajic noted, "I often watch Indonesian games. However, every time I watch, 2 or 3 new players are added, and these players are from the Netherlands or England, not from Indonesia."
He added, "Indonesia has a population of millions, but most of the players coming into the national team are from the Netherlands," emphasizing, "Of course, there is nothing wrong with that. We respect the Indonesian national team and have come here to win."
In fact, Indonesia has been operating a naturalization project since the era of Coach Shin Tae-yong. Most recently, Dean James, Joy Pelupessy, and goalkeeper Emil Audero joined, participating in this qualifying round.
Indonesia has significantly benefited from the effect of naturalized players. They drew 1-1 with Saudi Arabia, 0-0 with Australia, and drew 2-2 with Bahrain in their first match. In the second game against Saudi Arabia, they even won 2-0.
Unlike the impressive performance of Coach Shin Tae-yong's Indonesia against strong opponents, things changed under the newly appointed coach Patrick Kluivert, who took over in January. They suffered a crushing 1-5 defeat to Australia, losing the resilience shown during Coach Shin's tenure.
Following the team's lackluster loss to Australia, Indonesian fans are shouting for "Kluivert out." They are also criticizing the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) for abruptly dismissing Coach Shin and appointing Kluivert, who has little coaching experience.
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