There Was News That The Club Did Not Allow Egy And Elkan To Strengthen The Garuda Team, Shin Tae-yong: Where Did You Get The Information From?

The last training session of the national team before going to Turkey (Photo: Ulfa Gusti/VOI)

JAKARTA - The coach of the Indonesian national team, Shin Tae-yong confirmed that Elkan Baggott and Egy Maulana Vikri were included in his squad for the 2020 AFF Cup. It was rumored that the two players did not get permission from the club.

"I'm also confused about where to get the information (not released by the club)," said Shin Tae-yong after a training session at Field B, Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday night.

Previously, news emerged that FK Senica did not allow Egy to join the national team in the 2020 AFF Cup. Elkan's English club, Ipswich Town, would also not release its players.

The two clubs will only allow their players to play for the Indonesian national team in FIFA match day matches.

The AFF Cup has actually been recognized by FIFA as a category A tournament since 2016. The teams that participate there will get points in the FIFA rankings if they win. However, it was not held on FIFA match day.

For that reason, every club is actually allowed to prohibit its players from defending their respective national teams.

Before appearing in the 2020 AFF Cup, the national team is scheduled to carry out two test matches in Turkey, against Afghanistan and Myanmar. The match against Afghanistan took place on November 16 with FIFA match day status. Meanwhile, the match against Myanmar was not included in the FIFA match day agenda.

Reportedly, Egy and Elkan will return to their respective clubs after the match against Afghanistan. After that, approaching the 2020 AFF Cup, both of them returned to the Indonesian national team to compete in the prestigious Southeast Asian event.