In the second match of the 2024 U23 Asian Cup 1/4 finals that ended in the early morning of April 26, Beijing time, the Indonesian Olympic team created a miracle, they drew 2-2 with South Korea in 120 minutes of regular time, and then won 11-10 in the penalty shootout, thus eliminating South Korea with an aggregate score of 13-12 to enter the top four.
In this game, the 21-year-old scorer Struk scored twice for the Indonesian national team. Both of his goals were spectacular, leaving the South Korean defence helpless. There is no doubt that Struk is also the number one contributor to Indonesia's history in this Under-23 Asian Cup.
It is worth noting that Struk is a player of Dutch origin. Born in 2003, he is the son of a Dutch-Indonesian (Java) father and a Dutch, Indonesian and Surinamese mother.
Due to the abundance of talented Dutch national names, Struck chose to represent Indonesia in international competitions. And it turned out that Indonesia was too wise to naturalize him. Streuk, who currently plays for The Hague in the Dutch league, has already played for the Indonesian men's national football team, and has a bright future. It is foreseeable that in the future, Strucker may also have a big impact on the back line of the national football team.
Not only Strog, but also many Dutch-born players have become an important addition to the Indonesian national team under the strong recommendation of coach Shin Tai Long. Other Dutch-born players were recruited along with Strujk in the same period, along with Walsh, Klok, Ivar Jenner and Justin Hubner. It is no exaggeration to say that the Indonesian men's football team can now field a starting line-up for the Dutch.
With the addition of a large number of Dutch players, the strength of the Indonesian Olympic team and the Indonesian men's national football team has increased greatly. Indonesia qualified for the first time in the U23 Asian Cup and eliminated South Korea, the most successful team in the history of the tournament. With 3.5 quota places available in Asia, the top three will go straight to Paris and the fourth-place will play a play-off against Guinea, with the winner advancing to the Olympics. Indonesia's Olympic Games have great hopes of entering the Paris Olympics.
In the round of 36, the Indonesian men's football team doubled the main opponent of the group, Vietnam, and had a very good chance to lock the second place in the group and enter the round of 36. If the Dutch player can be sharpened under the tutelage of Shen Tailong, the Indonesian men's football team may have a better chance of reaching the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico than the current Chinese men's football team.