Indonesian naturalized striker: If you don't win the AFF Cup, don't dream of attending the World Cup

" Now we say the goal of Indonesian football is the World Cup. How can we aim for the World Cup if we cannot win the AFF Cup. I do not agree with using the Indonesian U22 team in the AFF Cup. You have to use the strongest team ," veteran striker Greg Nwokolo said on TVOne's Two Sides program.

Greg Kwokolo was born in Nigeria and was naturalized by Indonesia many years ago. He played 8 matches for the Indonesian national team and scored 2 goals. The striker born in 1986 is considered a star in the championship of the archipelago. He scored 79 goals in many years of playing. Previously, coach Shin Tae-yong announced that Indonesia must have a squad with many young players for the AFF Cup 2024.

Greg Nwokolo is unhappy with PSSI's policy.

The Indonesian national team currently has 16 naturalized players and can field 11 players in the starting lineup in all positions. However, the president of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) - Mr. Erick Thohir has not stopped the naturalization process. Indonesian press reported that they will have 3 more naturalized stars including defender duo Tim Geypens and Dion Markx, both players born in 2005. The remaining player is striker Ole Romeny.

But not everyone is happy with Indonesia playing with players trained in Europe with little connection to domestic football. The wave of calls for the use of young talent trained directly by Indonesia is growing after a series of failures in the third round of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

Greg Nwokolo harshly said: " It's fine for those who have been naturalized to play in the AFF Cup, there's no problem. Don't naturalize so many players and then say the AFF Cup is not important ."

The Indonesian team is in Group B of the 2024 AFF Cup with Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and Laos. Coach Shin Tae-yong aims to reach the final of the tournament and has not thought about winning the championship trophy yet. PSSI has called up 33 players, most of whom are very young. Many naturalized players are absent due to being busy playing at the club level.

Mai Phuong

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/tien-dao-nhap-tich-indonesia-khong-vo-dich-aff-cup-dung-mo-du-world-cup-ar907965.html