Dutch coach Patrick Kluivert has been sacked from his role as head coach of Indonesia’s National Men’s Football Team. The former FC Barcelona and Newcastle United striker was dismissed after Indonesia’s chances of qualifying to the 2026 FIFA World Cup closed.
Kluivert was appointed in January and in nine months he supervised the Indonesian team that had three wins, lost four and drew one.
Indonesia lost 3-2 to Saudi Arabia and 1-0 to Iraq in Group B of the Asian qualifiers in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in the immediate past international window.
Writing on his Instagram page after the dismissal, Kluivert reflected on his journey with the Asian nation and described it as something he was proud of.
“Even though I’m deeply disappointed and sorry for the fact that we didn’t make it to the World Cup, I’ll always be proud of what we built together.”
“The defeats against Saudi Arabia and Iraq were bitter lessons, but also reminders of how high our shared dreams are. As head coach, I take full responsibility” Kluivert stated.
After a successful playing career, Kluivert led Curacao to qualify to the 2017 Caribbean Cup and CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2017 before having a stint with Cameroon’s National Team as an assistant head coach.
