Indonesia sense World Cup chance as Asian qualifying reaches climax | Sports

HONG KONG, Oct 6, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - World Cup qualifying in Asia reaches its climax over the next week with Patrick Kluivert's Indonesia among six countries vying for two remaining spots from the region. The football-mad nation of nearly 300 million people is on the verge of its first World Cup since gaining independence from the Dutch in 1945. Indonesian football authorities have looked to the Netherlands to achieve it, bringing in legendary Dutch striker Kluivert as coach in January. They have also naturalised more than a dozen players born in the Netherlands but with family ties to the Southeast Asian country. It comes three years after Indonesian football was plunged into mourning when 135 people were killed in a...