Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The name Nathan Tjoe-A-On is widely discussed by Indonesian netizens. Based on CNBC Indonesia’s monitoring, Friday (3/5/2024), Nathan occupied the trending topic X ranking by collecting more than 28,000 tweets.
The spotlight on Nathan is increasing due to his excellent performance in the match for third place in the 2024 Asian Cup, which took place Thursday (2/5) evening until early this morning.
The Indonesian U-23 national team lost with a score of 1-3 against Iraq. Nevertheless, Nathan is considered to be fighting tooth and nail to secure the position of the Garuda Muda squad.
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Nathan seemed focused on blocking the opponent’s attacks, especially when Ernando Ari made a mistake by picking up the ball, but failed, in the 73rd minute.
Iraqi player Mohad Mohammed used this momentum to target the ball into the empty net. However, Nathan moved quickly and blocked the action.
It is not surprising that many people call Nathan the backbone of the Indonesian U-23 national team. In fact, many call him the best Garuda Muda squad player.
Nathan is said to be skilled at playing in midfield. He managed to provide sweet passes and helped his team control the game. Even though the final result was a loss, the efforts of the team coached by coach Shin Tae-yong (STY) deserve a thumbs up.
Nathan himself is of Indonesian descent and was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on December 22 2021. His grandfather was an Indonesian who came from Semarang, Central Java.
At the age of 22, Nathan has already recorded brilliant achievements. In his junior career, he played for the VV Nieiwerkerk club in 2010-2013. Then he moved to Excelsior in 2013-2019.
Moving on to his senior career, Nathan played at Excelsior in 2019-13. Then he moved to Swansea City in 2023, and is now on loan at Dutch club Heerenveen.
In October 2023, Nathan was invited to play with the Indonesian national team through naturalization. He witnessed and spoke directly with PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir and President Joko Widodo when the Indonesian national team hosted Brunei Darussalam in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification at GBK Stadium, Jakarta.
He also received a call to the Indonesian national team for the 2026 FIFA Cup Qualification match against Vietnam on March 21 and 26 2024.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
(fab/fab)