U22 Indonesia loses young star before SEA Games 2025, coach Indra Sjafri speaks out

SEA Games 2025, held from December 9 to 20, 2025, is not on the FIFA calendar, so clubs have the right to keep their players and are not required to release them to national teams.

Rifqi Ray traveled to Chiangmai yesterday to join the U22 Indonesia squad and started integrating before their first match at SEA Games 2025.

Coach Indra Sjafri stated: "We have prepared a substitute, Rifqi Ray Farandi from Persik Kediri. He flew to Thailand on December 3, 2025, to join the team."

Rifqi Ray was included in the U22 Indonesia call-up list for the training camp in Jakarta in November 2025 but did not make the final squad.

AtSEA Games 2025, U22 Indonesia is placed in Group C of the men’s football tournament alongside U22 Philippines and U22 Singapore.

The team will kick off their Group C journey with a match against U22 Philippines at the 700th Anniversary Stadium, Chiangmai, on Sunday (December 8, 2025).

Coach Indra Sjafri further shared: "Currently, the team is training hard in Chiangmai, Thailand."

He added: "We continue to focus on finalizing preparations and tactics before the opening match against U22 Philippines."

Besides Marselino, Indonesia retains most of its key players, including Dutch-Indonesian defender Dion Markx, midfielder Ivar Jenner, forwards Rafael Struick, Jens Raven, and Mauro Zijlstra. This makes Coach Sjafri very thankful for the support from the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) and clubs, since SEA Games is not part of FIFA days.

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