Shin Tae-yong Responds To Calvin Verdok's Naturalization News: June Is Over
JAKARTA - The coach of the Indonesian national team, Shin Tae-yong, opened his voice about the naturalization news of Calvin Verdok. The coach even revealed that the Dutch player may have been able to get closer to the Garuda Squad in June 2024.
Calvin Verdok's name has recently become a hot topic of conversation. The reason is, the 26-year-old player who is now appearing for NEC Nijmegen admitted that he had held talks with PSSI about naturalization to strengthen the Indonesian national team.
Regarding that, Shin Tae-yong admitted that Verdonk was indeed one of the players being worked on to become an Indonesian citizen (WNI).
The South Korean coach even revealed that it was possible that Verdonk's process could be completed in June 2024 if there were no obstacles.
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"Calvin (Vardonk) is indeed trying to be naturalized. Maybe if the June 2024 process is finished quickly," said Shin Tae-yong before accompanying the departure of the U-23 Indonesian national team to Dubai on Monday, April 1, 2024.
The 53-year-old coach said that he had seen the Feyenoord dropout game firsthand. According to him, Verdok does have good quality and will be very helpful if he later joins the Indonesian national team.
"I've seen firsthand the performance of the player. He is very good and will help the Indonesian national team," said the coach.
Shin Tae-yong had previously said that there would be several players of descent who would be naturalized before June 2024.
The puzzle seems to be starting to come to light as Shin admits Verdonk will soon be naturalized, in addition to Maarten Paes, which is currently also ongoing.
If Verdonk's process runs smoothly, he can immediately join the Indonesian national team. The player's presence will have a very positive impact on the Garuda Squad.
The reason is, the Garuda Squad will resume its struggle in the remaining two matches of Group F of the 2026 Asian Zone World Cup Qualification, namely against Iraq and the Philippines.
Of the two matches, the Indonesian national team only needed one more victory to be able to secure a place to the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.