Patrick Kluivert falls short compared to Coach Shin Tae-yong in one achievement

09/10/2025 05:25:00 GoalGuru

During Shin Tae-yong's tenure, Indonesia's national team never suffered a defeat against Saudi Arabia like under Patrick Kluivert.

Although Indonesia took an early lead against Saudi Arabia, they ultimately lost 2-3 in their opening match of the 2026 World Cup qualifying round. This defeat puts the Indonesian team at high risk of missing out on the World Cup finals and further casts doubt on Coach Patrick Kluivert’s leadership abilities.

This loss has made the comparison between Kluivert and Shin Tae-yong even clearer. In Shin Tae-yong’s era, Indonesia never lost in two encounters with Saudi Arabia. In the first match of the third qualifying round, held at Jeddah Stadium, Indonesia managed a 1-1 draw against their opponent.

Patrick Kluivert kém xa HLV Shin Tae-yong ở 1 thành tích 718682 — Coach Shin Tae-yong has never been defeated by Saudi Arabia while managing the Indonesian national team

At that time, Saudi Arabia was coached by the renowned Roberto Mancini. Meanwhile, in the home leg of the return match, Indonesia won 2-0 thanks to the brilliance of Marselino Ferdinand.

Among the two opponents in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round 4, Saudi Arabia stands out particularly. This is not only due to their reputation as a regular World Cup participant but also because of their overwhelmingly dominant head-to-head record against Indonesia. With this 2-3 loss, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia have met 15 times in official and friendly matches. Indonesia has only won once and drawn twice, while Saudi Arabia has claimed 12 victories.

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Indonesia made headlines by defeating Saudi Arabia 2-0 at home in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, with both goals scored by Marselino Ferdinand. At that time, the team was led by Coach Shin Tae-yong, who contributed significantly to Indonesia’s football development.

Therefore, with Kluivert’s recent failure, many voices argue that the Indonesian Football Association made a mistake by dismissing Coach Shin Tae-yong. The Dutch legend’s capability is questioned, with opinions suggesting he has yet to help the Indonesian team progress and perform as well as they did under Shin Tae-yong’s guidance.