Indonesian newspaper worried because naturalized players are still unemployed, Malaysian foreign players are rescued

According to CNN Indonesia, Coach Kluivert will have major changes in terms of personnel and tactics in the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers, if the current number of naturalized players remains unemployed. Meanwhile, 2 Malaysian foreign players were rescued.

Naturalized Indonesian player still struggling to find new club

Indonesian press and fans are increasingly anxious, because it is almost the end of June, but there is still no news that the important naturalized players of the archipelago team, including Thom Haye, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, Justin Hubner, Rafael Struick, Shayne Pattynama and Jordi Amat, will find a new club to join.

The Indonesian team has high expectations in the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, but is facing problems with many key naturalized players unemployed.

Photo: Reuters

Key midfielder Thom Haye, 30, recently announced that he is still waiting for a chance to play in the Dutch National Championship (Eredivisie), after leaving Almere City because the team was relegated. Meanwhile, other players such as Justin Hubner (21), after playing on loan at Cerezo Osaka (Japan), were not signed by this team, and were also released by their parent club Wolverhampton (England) from June 6.

Justin Hubner is also not called up to the Indonesian U.23 team despite being a free agent. But so far he has not convinced any new club to join, although some clubs in Liga 1 (Indonesian National Championship) are interested. Similar to Nathan Tjoe-A-On, this player is currently temporarily working as a salesman for his own branded clothing products and also as a model.

Meanwhile, striker Rafael Struick, defender Shayne Pattynama and centre-back Jordi Amat have remained quiet and their futures are unclear. Jordi Amat is still looking for a chance to play in the Malaysia Super League after his contract with Johor Darul Ta'zim was not renewed. Or he is also considering the opportunity to join the Thai League 1 (Thailand).

"In case these naturalized players have not yet found a new club to join, and their performance is affected, coach Kluivert will likely consider whether to call them up or not during the FIFA Days in September, the stage of starting to prepare personnel and tactics for the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia (from October 8 to 14)," CNN Indonesia said.

The Malaysian team breathed a sigh of relief when defenders Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel (13, pictured) were rescued by Johor Darul Ta'zim club.

Photo: Ngoc Linh

Also according to CNN Indonesia, in the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, the national team will face most of the teams in the Middle East such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iraq, except for Oman, because this team is in the same seed group as Indonesia. Therefore, in terms of tactics, there will also be changes to suit. In the third qualifying round, after coach Kluivert took over the hot seat from coach Shin Tae-yong, the Dutch coach often used a formation of 4 defenders.

But now, with key defenders such as Jordi Amat, Shayne Pattynama, Justin Hubner still unemployed, switching to the previous three-man defense will be suitable and meet the need for the ability to deal with teams from the Middle East, CNN Indonesia said. Thereby, central defenders Jay Idzes, Kevin Diks and Dean James will be key factors in coach Kluivert's new strategy, the newspaper added.

Meanwhile, also related to naturalized players, the Malaysian team breathed a sigh of relief when defender Jon Irazabal (of Spanish origin), after parting ways with Sabah FC (in Azerbaijan), was signed by Johor Darul Ta'zim to play in the 2025-2026 season in the Malaysia Super League.

Johor Darul Ta'zim also rescued another naturalized Dutch player from unemployment in midfielder Hector Hevel, 29, after he was sacked by Portuguese club Portimonense SC at the end of last season.

With 2 naturalized foreign players returning to play in the Malaysia Super League with the Johor Darul Ta'zim Club, the Malaysian national team will also be able to call them up when participating in the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 (Central Asian regional championship) as a guest team, taking place from August 26 to September 9. Meanwhile, most of the other naturalized players will depend on the club and the time in the FIFA Days schedule from September 1 to 9 to be allowed to return to the national team or not.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bao-indonesia-sot-vo-cau-thu-nhap-tich-van-that-nghiep-ngoai-binh-malaysia-duoc-giai-cuu-185250626110324019.htm