At the heart of it all was captain Jay Idzes, who alongside Rizky Ridho, Justin Hubner and goalkeeper Maarten Paes, had stood firm to secure a hard-fought clean sheet. As the dust settled, the Venezia defender made his way around the pitch, embracing his teammates, all of whom had become heroes celebrated by the entire nation for keeping the World Cup dream alive.

Netherlands and Barcelona legend Patrick Kluivert, who took charge of the Indonesian national team in January, reflected on his first victory in an exclusive interview with The Jakarta Post in Jakarta on Friday.

“We played in such a kind of stadium, with the heat and fans behind us […] I have experienced a lot of atmospheres [as a player], but this one was fantastic. I have to give the credit to the fans,” he said, his face beaming.  

A strike from Oxford United forward Ole Romeny in the 24th minute was all Indonesia needed to secure a vital three points, propelling them to fourth place in Group C of the Asian World Cup third qualifying round.

Under the qualification system, the top-two teams in each group advance directly to the finals, while the third- and fourth-placed teams move on to the next round of qualifying. To advance, Indonesia must secure at least one more victory in the upcoming matches, at home against China on June 5 and away to Japan on June 10.

The team bounced back from a tough 1-5 loss to Australia on March 20. Despite the heavy score, Kluivert felt Indonesia played well, pressing from the start and sticking to its game plan. However, the Socceroos took charge, scoring four unanswered goals.