After the coaching change, Indonesia achieved a valuable first victory in the World Cup qualifiers.
The Indonesia national football team defeated Bahrain 1-0 in the eighth match of Group C in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asia second round qualifiers held on the 26th at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
This is Indonesia's first victory under the new coach Patrick Kluivert (from the Netherlands), who took over after the dismissal of former coach Shin Tae-yong, who led the team until last year.
With this victory, Indonesia recorded 9 points (2 wins, 3 draws, 3 losses) and maintained 4th place in the group. The gap with second-place Australia (13 points) is 4 points, making it unlikely to secure a direct ticket to the finals, which is only available to the top two teams in the group, but if they maintain 4th place, they can aim for a place in the World Cup finals through the fourth round of qualifiers.
The only goal came in the 24th minute of the first half. Ole Romelu, a midfielder who was born in the Netherlands and naturalized, scored the goal for Bahrain.
Former coach Shin Tae-yong recorded 1 win, 3 draws, and 2 losses before this match and had extended his contract until 2027 last June, but he was abruptly dismissed just 6 months after signing.
Nevertheless, he expressed affection for his former team. According to local media reports, Shin said, "Congratulations on the new coach's first victory. Now we need to prepare for the match against China."
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