March 31, 2026 | 10:38 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Bulgarian coach Aleksandar Dimitrov considers the Indonesian national team to have performed quite well when the two teams met in the final of the 2026 FIFA Series at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium on Monday evening, March 30, 2026. Although Bulgaria won narrowly with a score of 1-0, he admitted that the team led by John Herdman had caused some trouble.
According to Dimitrov, Indonesia is able to apply a fast style of play, especially in building attacks from the backline. "We had difficulty there," he said after the match.
He sees Indonesia's tactical approach reflected in their courage to push the defensive line high into the opponent's area. In several situations, players like Jay Idzes and Justin Hubner even moved up to help with the attack.
Dimitrov mentioned that the quality of the game is not detached from the experience of Indonesian players who have careers in Europe. "We know Indonesian players very well because many of them play in very good leagues in Europe," he said. Several Indonesian players indeed play for European clubs, including Jay Idzes, Justin Hubner, Elkan Baggott, Ole Romeny, Kevin Diks, and Calvin Verdonk.
With this quality, Dimitrov considers that Indonesia is playing like a mid-level team in Europe. "Your team is very serious and very good. I compare it to a mid-level team in Europe," he said.
He also sees a bright future for the Garuda team with the current squad composition. Dimitrov even wished for Indonesia to achieve good results in upcoming tournaments, including the Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers.
Read: Indonesia Falls 0-1 to Bulgaria in FIFA Series 2026 Final
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