Indonesian players are all named in the list of stars to watch at the 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals, voted by the World Football Federation (FIFA) and Asia Football Federation (AFC).
FIFA rated Rizky Ridho as one of four players to watch at the tournament in Qatar. "Ridho is one of the top stars at the 2024 AFC U23 Championship," FIFA's article said. "The 2001-born centre-back is a natural leader, inspiring the team both on and off the pitch."
Rizky Ridho is the captain of the U23 Indonesia team that won the gold medal at the 32nd SEA Games, with a surprisingly calm demeanor compared to his young teammates. The 1.83 m tall center back is also trusted by coach Shin Tae-yong to be the captain of the national team whenever Asnawi Mangkualam is absent.
Rizky Ridho (red shirt) disputes with Mohanad Ali (white shirt) in the match where Indonesia lost 1-3 to Iraq in the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup. Photo: AFC
The 2024 AFC U23 Championship is Indonesia's first time participating, but it does not hide its ambition to compete for a ticket to the Paris Olympics. Indonesia is confident because the current generation of players have fought together in many tournaments with high achievements. In addition to Ridho, the team has many other faces who regularly play in the national team, including goalkeeper Ernando Ari, defender Pratama Arhan, midfielder Marselino Ferdinan, Witan Sulaeman, and four mixed-race players: Justin Hubner, Nathan Tjoe Aon, Ivar Jenner and Rafael Struick.
Among them, AFC was most impressed with midfielder Marselino Ferdinan, who is hailed by Indonesian fans as the greatest talent of his generation. The player born in 2004 is playing in Belgium for KMSK Deinze and has more than 20 matches for the national team, and is also the youngest Indonesian player to score at the 2023 Asian Cup, with the equalizer in a 1-1 draw in the 1-3 loss to Iraq on the opening day.
"Marselino led Indonesia to win the SEA Games gold medal for the first time in 32 years, in 2023," AFC assessed. "The midfielder is expected to continue to make his mark in Asia."
Marselino Ferdinan and Rizky Ridho join Indonesia in starting their 2024 AFC U23 Championship journey tonight, facing hosts Qatar in Group A at 10:30 p.m. Hanoi time. The other two opponents are Australia and Jordan.
Marselino Ferdinan celebrates scoring for Indonesia in their 1-3 loss to Iraq in the 2023 Asian Cup group stage. Photo: AFC
In addition to the two Indonesian players, FIFA and AFC shared the same impression with midfielder Kuryu Matsuki – the captain of FC Tokyo playing in J-League 1 despite being only 20 years old. Matsuki is considered a versatile midfielder who can both attack and defend and was chosen as the best young player in Asia in 2022.
Two other players to watch according to FIFA are Saudi Arabian striker Abdullah Radif and UAE's Harib Abdalla. Meanwhile, the AFC's list includes striker Eom Ji-sung (South Korea), Sultan Adil (UAE), Khusain Norchaev (Uzbekistan), midfielder Ali Jasim (Iraq) and Ahmed Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia).
The 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals will take place in Qatar from April 15 to May 3. The 16 teams will be divided into four groups and compete in a round-robin format, with four winners and four runners-up advancing to the quarter-finals. The champions, runners-up and third-place teams will automatically qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, while the fourth-place team will play a play-off against African representative Guinea.
The best achievement of the Southeast Asian representative at the U23 Asia is the runner-up position of Vietnam in 2018. Meanwhile, Malaysia and Thailand have the best achievement of reaching the quarter-finals once, in 2018 and 2020 respectively.
Hieu Luong
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