Marselino Ferdinan’s Absence from Oxford United for ASEAN Championship Confirmed

Marselino Ferdinan, who has netted five goals for the Indonesia national team, will be unavailable for Oxford United for a period of up to five weeks. His absence is due to his participation with Indonesia in the ASEAN Championship. This tournament features national teams from South East Asia. Indonesia’s schedule in the group stage includes matches against Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Oxford head coach Des Buckingham stated to BBC Radio Oxford, “It’s an age-group competition – the longest competition I’ve ever heard of but he won’t re-join us until what we’re expecting to be the end of December.” Ferdinan transferred to Oxford in August from the Belgian club KMSK Deinze, but he has not yet made an appearance for the U’s. The 20-year-old player was responsible for both goals for Indonesia last month in their 2-0 World Cup qualifying victory against Saudi Arabia. The ASEAN Championship is being hosted across nine distinct countries, with a total of 10 teams having qualified. The final match will consist of two legs, scheduled for 2 and 5 January 2025.