Indonesia came out on top in their first game of the AFF Cup against Cambodia, which won their first game earlier this week against the Philippines. The hosts were the dominant side in the game and pushed back Cambodia from the first minute of the game. Keisuke Honda’s side looked very comfortable on the ball against the Philippines but struggled a lot more today. After just seven minutes Egy Maulana opened the score for Indonesia. Not long after the visitors did something back though, bringing it back to 1-1. The Indonesians started playing a little bit more direct, which resulted in a couple of big chances. Ten minutes before halftime Witan Sulaeman tapped in a cross from the right, putting Indonesia back in the lead. In the second half, the game slowed down and Cambodia couldn’t really get back into the game.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Marselino Ferdinan
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Indonesian
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 09/09/2004
- Club: Persebaya Surabaya
- Career: Persebaya Surabaya
- Position: Attacking Midfielder
- Secondary Position: Central Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Right
I re-watched a match from Marselino Ferdinan last week and I was impressed by him, but he was showboating a little too much at times for my liking. Against Cambodia, he played a lot better and showed me a different look though. The 18-year-old played as the right central midfielder in Indonesia’s 4-2-3-1 formation but would roam around the pitch a lot. According to Wyscout Marselino stands at 1.76m but I suspect he is slightly taller as he looked almost as tall as Jordi Amat, who is 1.84m. The youngster has a lean build and definitely has to add some muscle mass, which is normal for someone his age. The last time I saw him he was very poor defensively and he did a lot better this time. He defended a lot less naive and put in a couple of tackles, but I don’t think defending will ever be his speciality. I praised his work rate last time out, but this time he covered even more ground. Even in injury time, I noticed him pressing high up the pitch and then sprinting back to his own half.
It is in possession where Marselino Ferdinan can really shine. His off-the-ball movement caused Cambodia a lot of trouble. He would drop back at times to pick up the ball on his own half, move well between the lines and even make some dangerous runs behind the Cambodian defence. A great example of one of these moves came in the 35th minute. After Marselino wanted to get involved in Indonesia’s build-up he made a great run in behind Cambodia’s defence and received a fantastic long pass. Marselino then put in an excellent low-driven cross to Witan Sulaeman who just had to tap the ball in.
With the ball at his feet looked very composed and mature, most of the time. He still had a few moments where he overcomplicated things, taking on too many opponents or with a very fancy turn, but today these moves seemed to have some sort of purpose. Technically Marselino already seemed to be one of the better, if not the best, players in this team. He did very well in tight spaces and generally scanned well. He also showed great passing range with a couple of great switches to the left wing.
Rating – A1
I had some doubts about Marselino based on his last game, but he showed me a much higher level in this game and I’m curious to see him play against Thailand next week. I think he definitely has the potential to play in Europe but the adaptation could be very hard for him. If he moves I think it will be most important that he is guided well and that the people around him speak English. I don’t know if he speaks English well himself but looking at his Instagram, next-level research I know, he at least speaks it a little bit.
Witan Sulaeman
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Indonesian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 08/10/2001
- Club: AS Trencin
- Career: SKO Ragunan, PSIM Yogyakarta, Radnik Surdulica, Lechia Gdansk, FK Senica (L)
- Position: Right Winger
- Secondary Position: Left Winger
- Preferred foot: Left
Witan Sulaeman played as the inverted left winger in Indonesia’s 4-2-3-1 and played a solid first half. In the second half, most of Indonesia’s players didn’t look as sharp and Witan was surely one of them. After 77 minutes he went down with what looked like cramps and not long after he seemed to pull his hamstring after a sprint. The 21-year-old is one of the only players in this Indonesian squad who plays in Europe but doesn’t get a lot of minutes for AS Trencin, which explains him not being completely match-fit. Standing at 1.70m Witan has a pretty average height compared to the rest of the players on the pitch. He did well in his 1v1 duels combining body feints with good acceleration on the first meters to get past his opponents. He also did fine under pressure, linking up well with left-back Pratama Arhan, who was very impressive but had to go off with an injury at the start of the second half.
Witan was a threat in the final third for Cambodia, mainly in the first 45 minutes. He made some good runs on the left but seemed to lack some composure inside of the box. In the 14th minute, he showed that he can shoot well, as a very powerful shot from outside the box hit the crossbar. But later in the half, he beat his opponent in the box by cutting back to his right foot and then instantly went for a weak shot, where he had a lot more time.
We saw his lack of composure one more time in the second half when he had a 1v1 with the goalkeeper. He shot with his right foot from the edge of the box, where there was plenty of time and space to go around him. Technically he should’ve been easily able to do so as he looked like a great dribbler against Cambodia. Witan scored the 2-1 in the 35th minute, after a lovely pass from Marselino it was harder for Witan to miss than to score, as he could just tap the ball in with his left.
Rating – B2
Witan Sulaeman has only started in one league match for AS Trencin this season and showed me some mixed things today. His pace and runs in behind are good weapons, but he needs to be more lethal in the final third to succeed in Slovakia.
Target Scouting 