Nathan Returns, Indonesian U-23 Team Full Strength Against South Korea

Heerenveen again allowed Nathan Tjoe-A-On to appear in the U-23 Asian Cup. Shin already understands South Korea's strength.

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The action of Indonesian midfielder, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, controlling the ball in the Group A match of the 2024 Asian Cup U-23, Sunday (21/4/2024), at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium. Nathan was allowed by his club, SC Heerenveen, to strengthen Indonesia after briefly returning to the Netherlands.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Again, the efforts of PSSI General Chair Erick Thohir to provide the best team to Indonesian U-23 Coach Shin Tae-yong have produced positive results. Erick once again succeeded in convincing the Dutch club, SC Heerenveen, to once again give permission to defender Nathan Tjoe-A-On to play for Indonesia in the knockout rounds of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup.

"Good news comes from the Netherlands where Heerenveen finally allows Nathan to strengthen the national team (U-23) until the remaining matches of the Asian U-23 Cup," said Erick in his statement on Wednesday (24/4/2024) early morning WIB.

Previously, Nathan returned to the Netherlands after completing the last match of Group A against Jordan, on Sunday (21/4/2024). This is in accordance with the initial agreement between PSSI and Heerenveen, which only allowed the 22-year-old player to appear in the preliminary round of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup.

Also read: Nathan Returns to Heerenveen, PSSI: Only Allowed to Qualify for Top 8

The Instagram account of Heerenven uploaded a team training photo on Tuesday (23/4/2024), which was also followed by Nathan. The training was held at the team's base, Abe Lenstra Stadium, in preparation for the match against the top of the Dutch League standings, PSV Eindhoven, on Thursday (25/4/2024).

After obtaining permission from his club, Nathan then took a flight from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar. Nathan is scheduled to arrive in Doha on Thursday morning local time.

Afterwards, he is scheduled to join the team's official training on Wednesday evening at Qatar University. The training is the final preparation for the "Garuda Muda" team before their crucial match against South Korea on Friday (26/4/2024) at 00.30 WIB at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha.

Good news came from the Netherlands where Heerenveen finally allowed Nathan to strengthen the national team (U-23) until the remainder of the U-23 Asian Cup.

Erick stated that with Nathan rejoining the squad, Garuda Muda will have the best team composition. From the three matches played in Group A, Shin only had the opportunity to field his best 11 players when they crushed Jordan 4-1.

Also read: Indonesia meets South Korea, Shin Tae-yong's wish finally comes true

"It certainly wasn't easy, but in the end we are grateful that all the players desired by Coach Shin are available. Now, we are focused on facing the match against South Korea with a complete strength," said Erick, former President of Inter Milan.

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Indonesia U-23 midfielder, Nathan-Tjoe-A-On (left), is guarding Jordan striker, Sief Addeen Darwish, who was in possession of the ball during the Group A match of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup on Sunday (21/4/2024) at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha.

In addition, Erick, who is also the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, expressed his gratitude for the support and assistance from various parties in participating in personal and informal approaches to the Heerenveen coaching team and management. Not to be forgotten, he also appreciates the efforts of supporters to convey direct messages to Heerenveen through social media.

Quieter

Meanwhile, Shin expressed a calmer feeling in preparing his squad to face his home country, South Korea, in the quarterfinals. In addition to being able to field Nathan again, who will be paired with Ivar Jenner in midfield, Shin also believes that the Indonesian team is better prepared due to having a longer rest time compared to South Korea.

"I feel more at ease because we have more rest time in a day compared to our opponents. I also already know the condition (strength) of our opponents," said Shin.

He added, "We are preparing hard to have a good match against South Korea."

In addition to Nathan, Shin can also have the returning striker from Persis Solo, Ramadhan Sananta, who has finished his suspension for a direct red card from the first game against Qatar. Sananta can now return as an option for the Garuda Muda front line although he may start the match from the bench.

DOKUMENTASI PSSI

Indonesia U-23 striker Ramadhan Sananta, during a friendly match against Saudi Arabia ahead of the U-23 Asia Cup on Saturday (6/4/2024) early morning WIB, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Sananta can strengthen Indonesia again after receiving a red card in the first match against Qatar.

Apart from the team that is preparing, the supporters have also prepared themselves to provide total support to Witan Sulaeman and his friends. A total of 2,019 tickets were obtained by the Indonesian diaspora through the blocking ticket purchasing mechanism.

blocking tickets is a method of purchasing match tickets coordinated by the Indonesian Embassy in Qatar together with the Indonesian Football Association in Qatar (IFQ) and Garuda Qatar. The purchasing system is to help supporters who have difficulty purchasing tickets online.

"The details of the number of tickets are 1,681 for category one and 338 for category two. Alhamdulillah, the tickets have been paid for and we have received them. God willing, we will distribute them to the area coordinators on Wednesday for distribution to the supporters," said the Chairman of IFQ, Vidi Viciyandrie.

There are five regional coordinators who handle tickets based on the place of residence of Garuda Muda's general supporters. Those five cities are Al Khor, Dukhan, Messaid, Wakwuk, and Doha and Lusail. Outside of those five cities, ticket allocations are also divided into two other categories, namely regional coordinators and volunteers as well as the Indonesian Embassy in Qatar.