Indonesia, led by head coach Shin Tae-yong, is in the midst of a naturalization drive ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America (co-hosted by Canada, the United States, and Mexico). Dan Lotz, a blossoming talent in the Dutch professional soccer Eredivisie, is reportedly eager to join the Indonesian national team.

Indonesian media outlet Karosatuklik published an article titled “Dan Lotz, 22-year-old Dutch Eredivisie player. Ready to join Indonesia’s national team,” the Indonesian-Dutch player was introduced in an article titled “Dan Lotz, 22, Dutch Eredivisie player.

“With Indonesian Palembang heritage, Dan Lotz is ready to join the Indonesian national team for the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 North and Central American World Cup,” the article said, adding, “Samuel Daniel Lotz, commonly known as Dan Lotz, can play as a frontline striker. He has already sent a direct message to the head of the Indonesian Football Association to express his desire to join the national team.”

“Lotz is preparing to join the Indonesian national team for the World Cup qualifiers. Lotz has Indonesian and Dutch heritage. His grandfather was born in Palembang.” “Lotz is currently 22 years old and plays for FC Twente in the Dutch first division,” the report added.

Lotz is a versatile player who can play as a frontline striker and as a left or right winger. In 93 career Eredivisie appearances, he has scored 11 goals and provided 13 assists. In the 2023-24 season, he was a key player in leading Twente to a third-place finish in the league with seven goals and 10 assists.

In addition to the Dutch league, he also showed his talent in European club competitions. He showed promise in the UEFA Europa Conference qualifiers, scoring two goals. It’s safe to say that he’s the ace of the Twente offense.

Indonesia, which advanced to the Asian third round of the North American World Cup under the leadership of Shin Tae-yong, is actively promoting its naturalization policy to challenge for a spot in the World Cup finals.

The media also reported, “According to an Indonesian national team official, the national team will continue to push for the naturalization of mixed-race players under the leadership of the president. For the third qualifying round, the 19사이트 team will proceed with a policy of filling vulnerable positions with naturalized players,” adding that more naturalized players could be added in the future.

Accordingly, the naturalization of Marten Paez, who plays for FC Dallas in the US MLS, is reportedly underway. “With three of our third-round opponents recently competing in the World Cup, we are desperate to have Marten Paes, who is the starting goalkeeper for the MLS team, on board,” the media outlet explained, adding, “He has already naturalized, but FIFA has blocked his naturalization based on his Dutch age-group national team record and is awaiting arbitration by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).”

Along with Paes, Lotz is also pushing for his naturalization. Born in the Dutch provincial town of Hoonloo, Lotz also has Indonesian citizenship thanks to his Indonesian grandfather. He doesn’t even represent the Netherlands at an age-group level, so there shouldn’t be a problem for Indonesians.

Indonesia will face a tough schedule in Group C with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and China. They’ll have to survive competition from Asia’s top-ranked Japan, fourth-ranked Australia, and Saudi Arabia, a defending World Cup participant in Qatar 2022 and a traditional Middle Eastern powerhouse.

The third round of World Cup qualifying will be played on a home-and-away basis from September through June of next year. With the expansion of the World Cup from 32 to 48 nations, the number of tickets allocated to the Asian continent has also increased.

As a result, the top two teams in each group will qualify for the World Cup, while the six teams ranked third and fourth will be split into two groups for the fourth round of qualifying. From there, the first-place finisher from each group will earn an additional qualification spot, while the second-place finishers will face off in a playoff, with the winner playing for the final spot in an intercontinental playoff.

Indonesia had previously fielded a mixed-race quartet at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar in April. Hwang Sun-hong’s men were stunned by Indonesia, and the South Koreans had to come to terms with a disastrous performance that saw them fail to qualify for their first Olympic Games in 40 years.

It will be interesting to see if Indonesia’s naturalization policy will pay off in World Cup qualifying.