World Cup Qualifiers: Calvin Verdonk Confident in Indonesia's Potential to Beat Qualifying Japan

March 27, 2025 | 08:26 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian national team player, Calvin Verdonk, believes that the Garuda team has a chance to win against Japan in the final match of the third round of 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Group C on June 10. He sees Japan's position, having already secured qualification for the 2026 World Cup, as a determining factor.

Japan's qualification has led to the team, coached by Hajime Moriyasu, not displaying their full strength in the remaining matches. This was evident when they did not field their key players in the match against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, March 25.

Verdonk hopes that the same will happen when Japan faces the Indonesian National Team. "We can hope for a miracle when facing Japan, away. They have already qualified for the World Cup, so we might have a chance to win," he said after playing the full 90 minutes in the 1-0 victory against Bahrain at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Currently, Indonesia is in fourth place with nine points from eight matches. They are three points ahead of Bahrain and China in fifth and sixth place, respectively. The Garuda team trails by one point behind Saudi Arabia in third place, four points behind Australia in second place, and 11 points behind Japan in first place.

With this situation, Indonesia's chances of advancing to the next round, finishing in third or fourth place, to chase the remaining tickets to the 2026 World Cup are very wide. "Now we just need to win against China (June 5)," said the NEC Nijmegen player.

If Indonesia can defeat China and then beat Japan, the team's chance to finish second is still open, as long as Australia fails to win in their last two matches.

Meanwhile, the match against Bahrain was Verdonk's ninth match with the Garuda team since his debut in the Shin Tae-yong era in the last match against the Philippines in the ongoing second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June last year.

After completing the match with Indonesia, Verdonk will now return to the Netherlands to represent NEC Nijmegen, who will host AZ Alkmaar in the ongoing Eredivisie at the Goffertstadion on Sunday, March 30, starting at 03:00 AM WIB.

Editor’s Choice: Indonesia Beats Bahrain 1-0 in 2026 World Cup Qualifiers; Ole Romeny Scores Lone Goal

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