Indonesian football in recent years has always stood out with the strategy of strengthening the force with naturalized players and players with foreign blood at all levels of the team from U17, U20, U23 to the national team. It used to be not uncommon for a squad to have 80-90% foreign players.
However, the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) has just made a decision that has surprised Southeast Asian football fans. The Indonesian U23 team was called up and the list only has one naturalized player in the list of 30 names preparing for the 2025 Southeast Asian U23.
In the list of players, Jens Raven, a striker currently playing in the Netherlands and playing for Indonesia U20 at the 2025 AFC U20 Championship, is the only naturalized player.
List of 30 players summoned by PSSI for the Indonesia U23 team
Despite the absence of naturalized stars, U23 Indonesia under the leadership of Dutch coach Gerald Vanenburg is still considered a strong candidate for the championship.
The core of this youth team is made up of quality domestic players who have grown up together through the levels from U17 to U20. Notably, many names have been tested at the 2024 ASEAN Cup such as Dony Tri Pamungkas, Muhammad Ferarri, Kadek Arel or Arhan Fikri.
The experience in the tournament at the end of 2024 will help these players mature and accumulate more experience for the upcoming playground.
At this year's tournament, U23 Indonesia, as the host, is in Group A with Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei. Meanwhile, U23 Vietnam is in Group B, competing with Laos and Cambodia.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/indonesia-ra-quyet-dinh-bat-ngo-cho-giai-u23-dong-nam-a-196250617155950947.htm
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