In recent times, the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) has actively used naturalized players to strengthen the national team. These naturalized players can be of Indonesian origin or not, as long as they have Indonesian nationality and have professional capacity, they will be selected for the national team.
However, there have been some changes in the way PSSI uses naturalized players. According to coach Shin Tae Yong, there will not be many opportunities for players who do not have Indonesian blood in the national team in the near future.
Mr. Shin shared with Bola newspaper: "We will look for more players to naturalize and play for the Indonesian national team. However, the key is that they must have Indonesian blood. Players without Indonesian roots will not be in our plans. In the coming time, I will go to the Netherlands for about 2 weeks and look for more players of Indonesian origin to add to the national team squad."
At the 2023 Asian Cup, the Indonesian national team has 7 naturalized players, including 6 Indonesians and 1 "fully naturalized" player, Marc Klok. Through the statement of coach Shin Tae Yong, it can be seen that the opportunities in the Indonesian national team for cases similar to Marc Klok will gradually narrow in the future.
According to the schedule, the Indonesian team will have two matches with the Vietnamese team in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on March 26 and 31.
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