Officially Become An Indonesian Citizen, Mauro Zijlstra Anthusiastically Participates In Garuda Training

JAKARTA - The naturalized player for the Indonesian national team, Mauro Zijlstra, shared his experience after officially joining the inaugural training with the Garuda squad.

The young striker who had just taken the oath of Indonesian citizens at the Indonesian Embassy, The Hague, on Friday last week was seen attending a training session at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium (GBT), Surabaya, Thursday, September 4, ahead of the match against Taiwan.

Through the official YouTube channel of the Indonesian national team, Friday, Zijlstra conveyed his impression.

"It's a good session with new teammates. It feels good. It feels good to meet them and the pitch is good, the weather is also good, so it's fun," said the 20-year-old striker, as quoted by ANTARA.

Zijlstra, who is now strengthening FC Volendam at the Dutch Eredivisie, was originally projected to strengthen the U-23 national team in the 2026 U-23 Asian Cup Qualification in Sidoarjo on September 3'9.

However, because the squad registration had been closed, he was finally prepared to strengthen the senior national team in two FIFA Matchday matches: against Taiwan on Friday night and Lebanon on Monday (8/9), both at the GBT Stadium.

Still on the same occasion, Zijlstra emphasized that he needed to adapt to the training atmosphere of Patrick Kluivert's senior team. "As I said, I think they are all good, all the players are good, and for me, I need to adapt to this level of training. But for me this is good. I have improved better, so that's okay," he said, who last season posted 17 goals and seven assists for Volendam U-21.

Meanwhile, Indonesian national team coach Patrick Kluivert has not confirmed whether to field Zijlstra or another new naturalized player, Miliano Jonathans, in the match against Taiwan. "And for your question, if I want to try anything else, you will see it tomorrow (Friday)," Kluiver said at a press conference at the GBT Stadium, Thursday.