Indonesia uses 4 naturalized players to compete for the SEA Games 33 gold medal with U.23 Vietnam

Head of the Indonesian national team delegation, Mr. Sumardji confirmed that 4 naturalized players currently playing abroad will join the country's U.23 team at the 33rd SEA Games, with the goal of competing for the gold medal with U.23 Vietnam and Thailand.

U.23 Indonesia has the strongest squad at SEA Games 33, but the big boss is humble

In a surprising development, the President of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI), Mr. Erick Thohir, set the target for the U.23 team at the 33rd SEA Games to only win a silver medal, instead of having to defend the gold medal as previously announced.

However, this can be understood as Mr. Erick Thohir's way of not wanting to put too much pressure on coach Indra Sjafri and his team, in the context that the competitions at SEA Games 33 promise to be very fierce.

Marselino Ferdinan (7) officially participates in SEA Games 33, will help U.23 Indonesia become extremely strong, competing with U.23 Vietnam

Photo: Ngoc Duong

Despite the modesty of Mr. Erick Thohir, recently the Head of the Indonesian national team, Mr. Sumardji confirmed that the country's U.23 team has completed negotiations with clubs to officially have 4 naturalized players who are playing abroad to participate in the 33rd SEA Games.

They are striker Mauro Zijlstra (FC Volendam), midfielder Ivar Jenner (FC Utrecht), defender Dion Markx (TOP Oss), all three of whom are of Dutch origin. In addition, star striker Marselino Ferdinan from AS Trencin in Slovakia has also confirmed his participation in the Indonesia U23 team.

In addition, U.23 Indonesia is also waiting for confirmation of two players Adrian Wibowo and Tim Geypens, according to coach Indra Sjafri. However, the possibility of these two players being released by their respective clubs is still unclear.

For now, with the presence of 4 naturalized players who are playing abroad, the strength of the U.23 Indonesia team has been significantly enhanced, as they also have several naturalized players who have been present for a long time, such as striker Jens Raven, Rafael Struick, and outstanding native players such as Dony Tri Pamungkas, Muhammad Ferarri, Kadek Arel, Toni Firmansyah, Hokky Caraka...

Coach Indra Sjafri said he will announce the list of 23 U.23 Indonesian players for the 33rd SEA Games this week, before arriving in Thailand on November 30.

However, according to CNN Indonesia, the men's football situation at the 33rd SEA Games had a huge incident, when Cambodian sports suddenly announced the cancellation of 8 more sports, including football.

Therefore, the fact that the U.23 Cambodia team will not participate will leave Group A with only 2 teams: U.23 Thailand (host) and Timor Leste. It is likely that this will lead to a redraw. However, until now (November 27), there is still no specific information, so the teams have to wait for the situation and announcement from the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF), as well as from the Organizing Committee of the 33rd SEA Games.

At SEA Games 33, U.23 Indonesia is in Group C, competing in Chiang Mai City, including the opening match against U.23 Singapore on December 5, against U.23 Philippines on December 8 and against U.23 Myanmar on December 12, all at 700th Anniversary Stadium.

U.23 Indonesia, along with U.23 Vietnam (in Group B, now adjusted to move the competition venue to Bangkok) and U.23 Thailand, are considered the 3 most promising candidates to compete for the gold medal in men's football at the 33rd SEA Games.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/indonesia-su-dung-4-cau-thu-nhap-tich-tranh-hcv-sea-games-33-voi-u23-viet-nam-18525112708532286.htm