Mr. Shin has an intention.

Indonesia U.21 squad

The list of the Indonesian team for the AFF Cup 2024 has been revealed. Because the tournament is part of the FIFA Days, coach Shin Tae-yong cannot call up many stars playing in the US and Europe such as goalkeeper Maarten Paes, defender Nathan Tjoe-A-On, midfielder Thom Haye or striker Ragnar Oratmangoen.

The list of the Indonesian team participating in the AFF Cup 2024 only has 3 naturalized players, namely Rafael Struick (Brisbane Roar), Ivar Jenner (FC Utrecht) and Justin Hubner (Wolverhampton Wanderers). These are familiar naturalized faces, having defeated Vietnam 3 times with Indonesia at the 2023 Asian Cup and the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. All three players were allowed by their home teams to participate in the AFF Cup 2024.

List of Indonesian team attending AFF Cup 2024

In Indonesia's "domestic" force, there are two prominent stars: Asnawi Mangkualam (Port FC), Pratama Arhan (Suwon FC) and Marselino Ferdinan (Oxford United).

Asnawi played for Indonesia U.19 and U.23 before joining the national team. The right-back of the archipelago team has good speed, technique and "weird" defense. He has faced Vietnamese football at many levels, notably at SEA Games 30 and 31 with Indonesia U.23, then participated in matches between Indonesia and Vietnam in the AFF Cup or World Cup qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Pratama Arhan is "familiar" to Vietnamese fans thanks to his extremely powerful throw-ins, creating a unique attack for the Indonesian team. The Indonesian left-back also has good technique and the ability to climb the sidelines. He currently plays for Suwon in Korea.

In addition, young star Marcelino Ferdinan is making waves when he scored a double against Saudi Arabia in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. Marcelino has also faced Vietnamese football at youth and national team levels. The player wearing the number 7 shirt has a sharp tactical mind and unpredictable speed.

Indonesian team is missing many important players

Besides the few pillars, most of Indonesia's force is very young, never wearing the national team jersey to participate in the AFF Cup such as Achmad Maulana (2003), Kadek Arel Priyatna (2005), Alfan Suaib (2004), Ronaldo Kwateh (2004) or Rivaldo Eneiro (2003)...

Coach Shin Tae-yong's intention

Sending the U.21 Indonesia team to play in the 2024 AFF Cup was previously mentioned by coach Shin Tae-yong, when the Korean coach affirmed that Indonesia needs to think about the Asian and world arenas, instead of just focusing on the AFF Cup.

Mr. Shin also wants to take advantage of the AFF Cup to give opportunities to young stars, who have not been able to gain a foothold in the Indonesian national team due to the influx of many naturalized players.

The Indonesian team has 6 points after 6 matches in Group C of the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, temporarily ranking third. Mr. Shin's students just defeated Saudi Arabia to become the Southeast Asian team with the most points in the third qualifying round. Indonesia's goal is to finish third or fourth in Group C to get a ticket to the fourth qualifying round.

At the AFF Cup 2024, the Indonesian team is in Group B with Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and Laos. Coach Shin and his team will compete with Vietnam on December 15 at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/indonesia-mang-doi-u21-da-aff-cup-chi-con-3-sao-nhap-tich-ong-shin-co-y-do-185241125103922517.htm