The Indonesian national team continues to increase its force before the ASEAN Cup 2026 when completing the naturalization procedures for winger Luke Vickery. Along with the nearly two-week preparation process in Bali, the archipelago team clearly shows its ambition to compete for the championship, aiming for a further goal of winning a ticket to the 2030 World Cup.
On Vickery's side, the 20-year-old player expressed his excitement after officially becoming an Indonesian citizen. He affirmed that he is very happy to be eligible to wear the national team jersey and wishes to contribute to helping Indonesia achieve the goal of participating in the 2030 World Cup.
Born in Hawaii (USA), Vickery has an Indonesian grandmother. The 1.83 m tall player currently plays for Macarthur FC (Australia) and once wore the U19 Australia jersey, winning a bronze medal at the 2024 U19 Southeast Asian Championship.
In parallel with strengthening personnel, Indonesia is also entering the professional completion stage. From the preliminary list of 47 players, coach John Herdman has streamlined the force after nearly two weeks of training with a high-intensity training plan to improve physical foundation.
Midfielder Thom Haye said that the goal of the whole team is the regional championship: "Indonesia comes to ASEAN Cup 2026 to compete for the championship. We are not afraid to talk about that goal. The whole team has many players who have played in big matches, including the final. Everyone understands the history of the team and is determined to prove their worth.
As the head coach said, if we want to achieve something, we must focus on each match.
At ASEAN Cup 2026, Indonesia is in Group A with defending champion Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia and Timor Leste. In which, the confrontation with the Vietnamese team on August 3 is predicted to greatly affect the race to win the top spot in the group and a ticket to the semi-finals.
