Miliano Jonathans and Mauro Zijlstra, officially Indonesian citizens, will be tasked with the national team this week.

The All-Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) has confirmed that two new forwards will complete their naturalization process this week. They are Miliano Jonathans (21), who plays for FC Utrecht, and Mauro Zijlstra (20) from Volendam. Both players compete in the Dutch League.

"The process (of naturalization) is already at the DPR. It will be processed in the next one or two days. The processes for both are being conducted simultaneously, although Mauro's documents have been completed earlier," said Arya Sinulingga, a member of the Executive Committee of PSSI in Jakarta, Monday (25/8/2025).

One thing is certain, Arya stated, this week, Miliano and Mauro are scheduled to take the oath as Indonesian citizens (WNI). The oath-taking ceremony will take place in Europe.

The acceleration of the naturalization process is intended so that both attackers can make their debut for the Indonesian national team during the friendly match calendar this September. At the very least, PSSI must manage the federation transfer of Miliano and Mauro to FIFA no later than two days before Indonesia faces Kuwait on September 5.

The manager of the Indonesian national team, Sumardji, confirmed that all players, whether they are playing in the Indonesian Super League or overseas leagues, will gather in Surabaya. "All players will start to assemble on September 1," he said.

Looking at their current careers listed in the Dutch League squad for the 2025-2026 edition, the presence of Miliano and Mauro is likely to be welcomed positively by supporters of the Indonesian national team. Moreover, the star striker, Ole Romeny, is still racing against time for injury recovery.

Ole is confirmed not to return until September. "We are monitoring the progress of his injury recovery; he is already able to walk. We hope for positive developments leading up to the fourth round," said Arya.

As a result, this situation presents a valuable opportunity for Miliano and Mauro to prove their mettle in the trial match at Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya, East Java, next month.

"Garuda" will challenge Lebanon (September 8) as a simulation match before competing in the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Saudi Arabia next October.

Miliano and Mauro must make the most of the match against Lebanon to adapt to their teammates on the Indonesian national team.

The two young forwards clearly need sufficient time to understand the game plan of Coach Patrick Kluivert. Although they are already well-acquainted with the philosophy of Dutch football, Miliano and Mauro must also comprehend the competition in the Asian arena.

In contrast to Europe, Asia has a diverse array of game identities and various natural talents of players. Indonesia will face Saudi Arabia and Iraq, which embody the distinctive football style of the Middle East, in the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The majority of teams from the Arabian Peninsula rely on individual skill and physical combat. The Garuda squad proved in the third round that they had no trouble facing Arab teams.

This was demonstrated by Indonesia, which recorded two victories and two draws against representatives from the Middle East. Marselino Ferdinan and his teammates each achieved one positive result against Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, as well as draws on the home ground of both teams.

The test opponent, namely Lebanon, can provide a permanent picture of Saudi Arabia and Iraq as well as understand Indonesia's weaknesses ahead of the fourth round. Nevertheless, Lebanon's level is still below that of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Referring to the latest FIFA rankings, Iraq and Saudi Arabia occupy the 58th and 59th positions, respectively. Meanwhile, Lebanon is in the 112th position. The team is quite comparable to Indonesia, which is in the 118th position.

If they are able to make their debut directly, then the match against Lebanon will be an opportunity for Miliano and Mauro to prove their sharpness at the international level. As forwards, the performance of Miliano and Mauro will certainly be assessed based on the number of goals scored.

This has been accomplished by Ole. He won the hearts of supporters of the Indonesian national team since his debut match in Australia. The Oxford United forward scored goals in his first three matches with Indonesia, including being the decisive factor in the victory against China and Bahrain.

Amid the enthusiasm surrounding Miliano and Mauro, doubts also envelop them. This is based on the performances of both players, which have not been promising at the senior level.

Miliano has been regularly included in the main squad of Utrecht during the 2024-2025 season. The player, born in Arnhem, has participated in 15 matches for Utrecht. He has also appeared twice as a starting player for Utrecht in the qualifying round of the 2025-2026 Europa League. Most recently, Miliano played from the 79th minute when Utrecht defeated Excelsior 4-1 in the third match of the Dutch League this season, Sunday (24/8/2025).

Although he has gradually managed to break into the main team of Utrecht, Miliano has yet to make a direct impact on his team's attacking line in terms of goals. The player, who stands 1.78 meters tall and predominantly plays in the right winger position, has still failed to contribute any goals or assists.

Meanwhile, Mauro will be the tallest center forward for the Indonesian national team at present. With a height of 1.88 meters, Mauro has an ideal physique to fill the number nine position.

Volendam's success in promotion to the Eredivisie this season has not yet opened the door for Mauro to participate in the highest tier of Dutch competition. In three matches this season, Mauro has only been listed once in Volendam's lineup.

The moment occurred during the opening match against Heerenveen. However, Mauro was only listed as a substitute and did not play. In the subsequent matches against AZ Alkmaar and Telstar, Mauro's name was not included in the Volendam player roster.

Mauro has an impressive record with 47 goals and 19 assists in the youth competitions in the Netherlands with the U-18 Amsterdam team, the U-21 NEC Nijmegen team, and the U-21 Volendam team. However, his development has not shown positive signs since his promotion to the main team of Volendam since last season.

The situation is certainly not ideal as they prepare to face Saudi Arabia and Iraq, which have many experienced players on the international stage. In addition, the players from these two giant football nations regularly compete in their respective leagues and in Asian club competitions.

With a track record of recent performances, nurturing the sharpness of Miliano and Mauro is a task that Kluivert must fulfill. With experience as one of the best strikers of the 1990s to the early 2000s, Kluivert needs to pass on his sharpness to the new striker duo of Garuda in order to sustain the dream of reaching the 2026 World Cup.