Jakarta. Former Italian national team coach Roberto Mancini believes that four players from the Indonesian U-23 national team have the potential to compete in Italy's Serie B league.

In a post on his personal Instagram account on Sunday, Hamdan Hamedan, the Expert Staff for Diaspora and Youth Affairs at the Youth and Sports Ministry, shared the results of an interview with the coach who led Italy to victory in the 2020 UEFA European Championship. Mancini was impressed by the performance of four Young Garuda players against Iraq in the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar.

When asked by Hamdan about standout Indonesian players, Mancini mentioned jersey numbers 7, 10, 6, and 26, which belong to Marselino Ferdinand, Justin Hubner, Ivar Jenner, and Nathan Tjoe-A-On, respectively.

Currently, Marselino plays as an attacking midfielder for the Belgian First Division B team Deinze, Hubner plays as a defender for the Japanese club Cerezo Osaka, Nathan plays as a left-back for Eredivisie club Heerenveen, and Jenner plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club Utrecht.

In response, Mancini expressed his belief that they are capable of playing at the Serie B level in Italy, both now and in the near future.

According to Mancini's assessment, overall, Indonesia performed well in the match against Iraq. However, Shin Tae-yong's team had to accept defeat to Iraq with a score of 2-1 in the third-place playoff of the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.

Currently, Marselino Ferdinand and his teammates are preparing for an important match against Guinea, an African representative, on May 9 in Paris, to secure a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Guinea, which finished fourth in the 2023 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, is ranked 76th in the latest FIFA rankings, while Indonesia is ranked 134th.

In addition to the four names mentioned by Mancini, Indonesia already has one player in Serie B, Jay Idzes. Idzes played a crucial role in Venezia's journey towards promotion to Serie A after defeating Feralpisalo 2-1 in a Serie B match on Sunday.

The match, which took place at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium for the 37th week, saw two winning goals scored by Finland national team striker Joel Pohjanpalo in the 60th and 90+3rd minutes. These three points put Venezia in third place in the standings with a total of 70 points.

Idzes scored two goals in the previous match against Catanzaro on Wednesday, shining in his 25th appearance. He was placed by Venezia coach Paulo Vanoli in a 3-5-2 formation alongside Michael Svoboda and Giorgio Altare in the defensive line.

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