Not Calling Ronaldo Kwateh To The Senior National Team Because It's Hard To Compete, Shin Tae-yong: He'd Better Compete In The Toulon Tournament

Ronaldo Kwateh

JAKARTA - The coach of the Indonesian national team Shin Tae-yong said he did not call Ronaldo Kwateh to the senior squad because the 17-year-old footballer was considered difficult to compete in the midst of many players in a similar position, namely the wing.

"Ronaldo is still difficult to play in the senior team. So, rather than not getting the opportunity, it is better for him to compete in the Toulon Tournament (with the U-19 national team)," Shin said in Jakarta, Thursday.

The South Korean tactician also hopes that Ronaldo will gain valuable experience in Toulon. Because, there he will face strong teams with good quality young players.

Ronaldo Kwateh was previously part of the U-23 national team that competed in the 2021 SEA Games. At the Southeast Asian Games, Ronaldo performed well by scoring one goal and helping Indonesia win a bronze medal.

However, this performance has not made Shin include Ronaldo in the list of senior national team players prepared for the FIFA friendly against Bangladesh, Wednesday (1/6), and preparations for the 2023 Asian Cup Qualification.

For the wing positions, Shin prefers experienced figures such as Saddil Ramdani, Witan Sulaeman, Egy Maulana, Stefano Lilipaly, Terens Puhiri, Irfan Jaya and Irfan Jauhari.

However, Shin made a different decision for Ronaldo Kwateh's peer, Marselino Ferdinand. Marselino, who is fluent in playing as a midfielder, is considered by Shin Tae-yong to have the ability to compete in the senior national team.

"Even though Marselino's physique is still not ideal, he can still compete and show good performances," said Shin.

While regarding the U-19 national team that left for France to take part in the 2022 Toulon Tournament, Shin said that their performance was getting better after several of their players underwent training camps (TC) in South Korea.

Shin himself was decided not to directly train the U-19 national team going to Toulon because he focused on preparing the Indonesian national team squad for the FIFA friendly against Bangladesh, June 1, 2022 in Bandung and the 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Kuwait on June 8-14 2022.

This made the U-19 national team temporarily led by Radoncic and the coach of the Indonesian U-16 national team, Bima Sakti.

"The U-19 national team is getting better and better. I saw firsthand their performance in the test match against Persita, Wednesday (25/5). I also get reports from the coaching staff every day," said Shin.

The 2022 Toulon Tournament will take place from 29 May-12 June 2022 in France. In the tournament for U-17 to U-23 players, Indonesia is in Group B with Mexico, Ghana and Venezuela.

The Toulon tournament is also one of the preparations for the U-19 national team for the U-20 World Cup in 2023.