Closer To Witan Sulaeman, Indonesia's Third Goal Scorer To The Taiwan Goal

JAKARTA - Witan Sulaeman scored the third goal of the Indonesian national team against Taiwan in the second leg of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifying play-off. Entering in the second half replacing Adam Alis, this young winger completed the victory for the Garuda squad.

Witan currently plays for Polish League club Lechia Gdansk. The first time he was introduced to the world of football, was from his father. Launching the official PSSI website, as a child, Witan's father always took him to play football.

Witan's first soccer school was SSB Galara in 2013. Then, he studied at SKO Ragunan from 2016 to 2019.

The man born in Palu, October 8, 2001, started his professional football career when he signed a contract with league 2 club PSIM Yogyakarta from 2019 to 2020.

Witan joined Serbian club FK Radnik Surdulica in February 2020 on a three-and-a-half year contract. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after two and a half months, he returned to Indonesia.

Witan only made his professional debut at the club on 14 June 2020, playing for Bogdan Stamenković in the match against Radnicki Nis and losing 2-4.

Witan officially has the status as a Lechia Gdansk player in September 2021. Wearing the number 80, Witan's contract is two years.

Lechia Gdansk itself is no stranger to Indonesian players. Before Witan, the club that was founded in 1945 was strengthened by another Indonesian national team player, Egy Maulana Vikri.

For his career in the national team, Witan has participated in training camps and selection for the U-16 national team during Fakhri Husaini's coaching period. However, at that time PSSI was punished by FIFA so the team was disbanded because it could not participate in any international events.

Witan's opportunity to play in the national team came back. His international debut in the Indonesian national team came from the age group (U-19 national team) in the 2017 Toulon Tournament when they met Brazil.

In the same year, Witan scored a goal in the 2017 AFF U-18 Championship when Indonesia won against Brunei 8-0. He also scored a goal during the third place match against Myanmar.

At the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship held in Indonesia, Witan scored twice in a group stage win over Taiwan and a 1-0 win over United Arab Emirates which took his team to the quarter-finals for the first time in 40 years.

Witan was also part of the Indonesian U-23 national team which won silver at the 2019 Philippine Asian Games. He received a call to join the Indonesia senior national football team in May 2021 and made his debut in the friendly match against Afghanistan in Dubai on 25 May 2021.

Meanwhile, Witan's goal against Taiwan in the second leg of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifying play-off, Monday, October 11 night, ensured the Garuda squad qualified for the third round of Asian Cup Qualification.