The Indonesian team plans to rely on the core of U22 players, because the AFF Cup 2024 is not included in the FIFA calendar. Clubs have the right not to release players to the teams at the AFF Cup.
Despite only playing with the youth team, Nova said that the Indonesian national team coach, Shin Tae-yong, has emphasized that the Indonesian team will continue to aim for the best results in this event.
“When talking about the goal of the 2024 AFF Cup, Mr. Shin Tae-yong always said that he wants to become the strongest team. However, a rather difficult situation is that this tournament is not included in the FIFA calendar,” Nova said in an interview with Liputan6 Sport channel.
“Therefore, the players who are playing abroad in the Indonesian national team will have difficulty in asking permission from their clubs. This is why we finally chose to use the U22 players,” the assistant coach of the Indonesian team added.
According to Nova, it is hoped that calling up these young players can continue the development process of the Indonesian team. If someone performs well, the coaching staff will give them the opportunity to join the national team - which has a chance to participate in the World Cup.
“This could also be an attempt to re-invigorate the players. This re-invigoration process must continue. With many of Indonesia’s naturalized players playing abroad, in highly competitive leagues, they cannot play in the AFF Cup.
Hopefully the young players called up from the U22 team will be able to play optimally. Because who knows, we might see a player promoted to the Indonesian national team,” added Mr. Nova Arianto.
Currently, the Indonesian coaching staff is considering calling up a number of players playing abroad including: Justin Hubner, Ivar Jenner and Rafael Struick.
These players are still very young. Besides, Marselino Ferdinand and Ronaldo Kwateh can also be called up. However, the coaching staff will wait for the decision from the club on whether to allow them to participate in the AFF Cup 2024 or not.
“There are some players playing abroad that we plan to call up for the AFF Cup 2024. For example, there are Justin, Ivar and Rafael. They are the players we will call up.
There are also Marselino and Ronaldo. However, we also have to consider the situation, whether their clubs will allow them to strengthen the Indonesian national team or not," the Indonesian assistant shared.
Most of the players called up for the AFF Cup 2024 are members of the Indonesia U20 team preparing for the FIFA U20 World Cup 2023. They have great potential.
“We are still waiting for permission from their clubs. Again, this is because the 2024 AFF Cup is not part of the FIFA Matchday programme. Most of the players called up are former U20 national team players who were unable to participate in the 2023 U20 World Cup,” Arianto concluded.
At the AFF Cup 2024, the Indonesian team is in Group B with Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and Laos. In history, the Indonesian team has never won this tournament, only winning the runner-up position 6 times.
