Young Football Star Arkhan Fikri Joins Indonesian National Team for 2026 World Cup Qualification

KOMPAS.com – Arkhan Fikri’s call to the senior Indonesian national team was quite surprising.

He is included in the list of 25 players called by Shin Tae-yong to strengthen the Indonesian national team in the 2026 World Cup Qualification event.

The team will have two matches against Brunei Darussalam. The first match was held at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, on Thursday (12/10/2023.

The second match was held at the Sultan Hasanal Bolkiah Stadium, Bandar Seri Begawan, on 17 October.

This is the first time he has received a call-up from the senior national team.

It is possible that he was called to replace the injured Ivan Jenner.

With this call, he became the youngest player to join the Senior Indonesian National Team at the age of 18 years.

Also read: The secret of Robi Darwis’ long throw-in in the National Team and Persib

Even though he is still young, his achievements in football cannot be underestimated.

Arkhan Fikri is a projected player to play in the 2023 U20 World Cup which failed to take place in Indonesia.

With the Indonesian U20 National Team, he recorded a total of 13 matches and scored one goal.

Eight of the matches are friendly trials preparing for the U20 World Cup against Turkiye U19, Moldova U20, France U20, Slovakia U20, Fiji U20, New Zealand 20 and Guatemala U20.

With the national team, he also appeared in full in two qualifying matches for the AFC U20 Asian Cup against Timor Leste U20 and Vietnam U20.

Then he also took part in the main stage of the AFC U20 Asian Cup against Iraq U20, Syria U20 and Usbekistan U20.

Apart from that, the player identical to number 8 also played in the 2022 AFF U19 Cup with enough playing minutes. Of the five matches played by the Garuda Nusantara squad, he only missed one match.

His call to the senior Indonesian national team was welcomed by Arema FC management. In the midst of the team’s revival from adversity, it can still contribute to the Indonesian National Team

“Of course the club is also happy and proud of Arkhan’s call-up to the Senior National Team,” said Arema FC team manager Wiebie Dwi Andriyas.

According to him, the player from Serdang Bedagai has so far played quite well while with the team while competing in League 1 2023-204 and the Indonesian National Team.

Throughout the competition, Arkhan Fikri has played 10 times with 7 tackles and 4 interceptions. Meanwhile, in the national team he has always been the choice of national team coach Shin Tae-yong.

Most recently he became the best player in the 2023 AFF U23 Cup after leading the Indonesian U23 National Team to runner up.

He also contributed greatly to two qualifying round matches for the 2024 AFC U23 Asian Cup against Taiwan U23 and Turkmenistan U23. Where he contributed one goal in these two matches.

This success also led Indonesia to advance to the main stage of the 2024 AFC U23 Asian Cup which will be held in Qatar in April 2024.

Wiebie Dwi Andriyas hopes that Arkhan Fikri’s joining the Indonesian National Team will always make a big contribution to Indonesia.

“So far, Arkhan Fikri has been good for the club and the national team. We always wish Arkhan the best,” he concluded.

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2023-10-05 08:00:00
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