Indonesian football worries that Vietnam team will become stronger if there are more naturalized players

(Dan Tri) - The President of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) and the media in the archipelago country are concerned that the Vietnamese team will become stronger if coach Kim Sang Sik's team has more naturalized players.

Speaking to Indonesian media, PSSI President Erick Thohir said: “The Vietnamese national team can attract players of Vietnamese origin living abroad. There are many Vietnamese people in the US and Australia. These people can return to Vietnam to contribute to building football in this country.”

Goalkeeper Nguyen Filip is a highly rated foreign-born Vietnamese player (Photo: Do ​​Minh Quan).

“If PSSI and Indonesian football are complacent and subjective about the progress of Vietnamese football, I think Indonesian football will be surpassed by the Vietnamese team in both men's and women's football,” Mr. Thohir added.

The Indonesian national team has suddenly become stronger in the past two years, after they added a series of naturalized players of Dutch origin. The team from the archipelago country is still competing for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup, through the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia.

According to PSSI, these Dutch people have Indonesian blood, from their grandparents, before they were invited by Indonesian football to naturalize and play for the national team of the archipelago country.

Cao Pendant Quang Vinh is also a Vietnamese player born abroad (Photo: VFF).

PSSI President Erick Thohir expressed his opinion that the Vietnamese team in the near future can do the same thing, naturalizing players with Vietnamese blood born abroad.

Even if the Vietnamese team had more players of Vietnamese origin born abroad, it could be stronger than the current Indonesian team. The reason is that there are many talented people of Vietnamese origin living abroad.

“We must be serious with our long-term and short-term programs, given the upcoming movement of Vietnamese football,” warned the head of the Indonesian Football Federation.

Sharing the same view with PSSI president Erick Thohir, the Indonesian newspaper Suara wrote: “It is not that the Vietnamese team cannot regain their position in Southeast Asia. If the Vietnamese team has more naturalized players of Vietnamese origin born abroad, these players will adapt easily.”

"If Vietnamese football itself naturalizes players in this direction, they will also gain experience from neighboring football backgrounds," Suara added.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bong-da-indonesia-lo-tuyen-viet-nam-manh-len-neu-co-them-cau-thu-nhap-tich-20250629233916797.htm