JAKARTA: Patrick Kluivert said it was “just the beginning” after his Indonesia side beat Bahrain 1-0 in front of nearly 70,000 in Jakarta to breathe new life into their World Cup qualifying hopes. Five days after Barcelona and Dutch great Kluivert saw his team thrashed 5-1 by Australia in his first game as coach, Oxford United’s Ole Romeny scored the only goal in the 24th minute for a vital three points on Tuesday. Japan top Asian qualifying Group C and have already punched their ticket to North America in 2026, with Australia in distant second in the other automatic qualifying place on 13 points. With two rounds of matches to go, Saudi Arabia are third on 10 points, one point ahead of Indonesia in fourth, with Bahrain and China on six points.

Teams finishing third and fourth go into another round of qualifying — Indonesia’s most likely route to their first World Cup since gaining independence as a country in 1945. Kluivert said the packed crowd at GBK stadium helped drag his side over the line. “It was fantastic, we knew the atmosphere would be like this, 69,000 people cheering. I want to thank the fans for having supported us here in the stadium,” said the 48-year-old Dutchman.

Kluivert felt his team, made up of mostly Netherlands-born naturalized players, were full value for only their second victory in eight matches in this qualifying phase. “We have first of all to be very happy with this result, we deserved to win with the chances we created, we deserved even more goals,” said Kluivert, whose team host bottom side China in June and then travel to already qualified Japan in their final group match.

“In Australia, it was a result that we did not deserve. This time in front of our fans we are very happy to have this result and to share with the fans. It’s just the beginning, we have more time till June, we have a little time to fix everything even better.”

In another match, Son Heung-min blamed South Korea’s shoddy pitches for their 2026 World Cup qualifying struggles after a 1-1 draw with Jordan left them sweating on an automatic place at the tournament. The Koreans were held at home for a second game in a row on Tuesday after also drawing with Oman last week and hold a precarious lead at the top of Asian qualifying Group B with an away trip to third-placed Iraq still to come.

South Korea’s two qualifiers in March were moved away from Seoul because of the capital stadium’s poor pitch but skipper Son said the turf was still below par and took aim at his country’s football administrators. “When we’re at home we’re supposed to enjoy the best playing conditions possible but things have not improved at all,” the Tottenham striker told reporters after the game in Suwon.

“I know we can play better than this but when conditions on our home soil get in the way, then I wonder where we should get our home advantage.” Poor pitches have been a running theme in South Korean football, with former Manchester United and England forward Jesse Lingard also weighing in last month.

Lingard, who now plays for FC Seoul in the K League, tripped over a chunk of turf while playing at home for his club and later took to social media to air his frustration. South Korea’s World Cup qualifier against Iraq in October last year was also moved away from the capital because of the playing conditions.

“I know this may sound like an excuse, but every small detail matters in football,” said Son. “It can make the difference of getting one point or getting three points. I hope people will pay closer attention to it.” Lee Jae-sung gave South Korea the lead in the fifth minute before Jordan equalized later in the first half. The result leaves the Koreans on top of Group B with 16 points, three ahead of Jordan and four ahead of Iraq, who suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Palestine. The top two qualify automatically for the World Cup in 2026 in North America. South Korea play Iraq away in their next game before rounding off their campaign at home to Kuwait. — AFP