Indonesian football boss 'says one thing and does another', another unbelievable story

President of the Indonesian Football Federation Erick Thohir has just expressed the possibility that the country's football will stop naturalizing players, but announced that it is about to complete the naturalization procedures for 3 new players to prepare for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in October.

Indonesia determined to get ticket to World Cup 2026

President of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Erick Thohir has determined that the priority of this agency is to focus all its efforts on the national team, with the immediate goal of competing for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup. Therefore, they will push harder to naturalize foreign players to strengthen their strength, to compete in the fourth qualifying round of the Asian region in early October.

Striker Ole Romeny (left), the best naturalized Dutch player currently on the Indonesian national team

Photo: Reuters

According to CNN Indonesia, Mr. Erick Thohir officially submitted the documents of 3 brand new naturalized players to the Indonesian team on August 4, and is waiting for the authorities of this country to approve them before announcing them as Indonesian citizens. Those players are Mauro Zijlstra, Jairo Riedewald and Miliano Jonathans, all of Dutch origin, with grandparents and parents of Indonesian origin.

Two of these three players, Mauro Zijlstra and Miliano Jonathans, are only 20 and 21 years old respectively, and can strengthen the Indonesian U.23 team for the U.23 Asian qualifiers in early September and the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand in December. Meanwhile, Jairo Riedewald (28 years old) is an experienced player who has played for Crystal Palace in the English Premier League and Royal Antwerp (Belgium). Riedewald was called up to the Dutch national team three times in 2015, and made his debut on September 6, 2015 when the Netherlands met Turkey. Since 2024, Riedewald has expressed his desire to FIFA to allow him to change his nationality and play for the Indonesian national team.

This is in complete contrast to Mr. Erick Thohir's recent proposal that Indonesian football should focus on developing internal strength, instead of pursuing a policy of naturalizing players.

Obviously, the ambition of this country's football will not stop and they will continue to push forward the process of naturalizing players to achieve the goal, specifically winning a ticket to the 2026 World Cup. "Yes, we have strengthened the team and have submitted a new list of naturalized players. Hopefully, they will soon be able to take the oath as Indonesian citizens and be added to the team right before the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia," Mr. Erick Thohir confirmed via a status posted on his Instagram social network account on August 4.

Up to now, the Indonesian national team has had more than 80% of naturalized players playing in the main squad. The U.23 team, the U.20 team and the U.17 team all have naturalized players. Mr. Erick Thohir once affirmed: "We will aim to naturalize younger players, adding them to the youth teams. They will be the core to promote the development of Indonesian football."

Naturalized teams will struggle against West Asian teams

In the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, the Indonesian team has two decisive matches to win a ticket to the final round. They will meet Saudi Arabia on October 8 and Iraq on October 11. Indonesia needs to win both matches to win a ticket to the 2026 World Cup as the top team. If they only finish second in the group, the team from the archipelago will enter a tough play-off round, including having to overcome two Asian play-off matches, then the intercontinental play-off round to compete for two wildcard tickets in March 2026. If they finish last in the group, they will officially say goodbye to their dream of attending the 2026 World Cup.

Both Saudi Arabia and Iraq have prepared very carefully for the fourth qualifying round, so Indonesia needs to have some great matches to hope to win. If they reach the 2026 World Cup, Indonesian football will certainly continue its path to naturalization. They are also nurturing great ambitions at the 2027 Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia, and the next World Cup in 2030.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/sep-lon-bong-da-indonesia-noi-mot-dang-lam-mot-neo-lai-them-chuyen-la-kho-tin-185250805220331379.htm