Indonesian national team naturalized 2 more stars, one of whom once held MU to a draw

Mees Hilgers (left) and Eliano Reijnders (right) shake hands with PSSI President Erick Thohir

On September 30, Mees Hilgers and Eliano Reijnders took the oath of office to become Indonesian citizens at the Indonesian Embassy in Brussels, Belgium. The ceremony was held a week after the documents were approved by the Indonesian government, opening up the opportunity to compete for the Indonesian national team at the 2024 AFF Cup.

Previously, on September 5, these two players flew to Indonesia to complete the procedures and paperwork. They also had a training session with coach Shin Tae-yong and his team on September 7 in Jakarta. Both Hilgers and Eliano are of Indonesian origin, so they will be able to play for the national team immediately.

It is expected that these two players will be called up by coach Shin Tae-yong to the Indonesian national team to prepare for the 2 matches in the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup against Bahrain (October 10) and China (October 15). The team's strength will increase significantly when Hilgers and Eliano join.

Mees Hilgers and Eliano Reijnders take oath of Indonesian citizenship

Hilgers was born in 2001 in the Netherlands, plays as a center back and has an impressive height of 1.85 m. He used to play for the Dutch U.21 team and is currently playing for Twente FC, a team playing in the national championship of this country.

Last September, he played the full 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw against MU at Old Trafford, within the framework of the 2024-2025 Europa League season.

Meanwhile, Eliano is expected to upgrade the Indonesian national team's attack. He is an attacking midfielder and can also play well on the right wing as a defender and midfielder. The player born in 2000 is currently playing for Zwolle, the team currently ranked 13th in the Dutch national championship.

He is not as talented as his brother Tijjani Reijnders, the central midfielder who is a mainstay of the Dutch national team as well as the Italian giant AC Milan, but he is capable of causing many difficulties for opponents in Asia and Southeast Asia.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-indonesia-nhap-tich-them-2-ngoi-sao-co-nguoi-tung-cam-hoa-mu-185241001100523152.htm