Elkan Baggott Says 'Honored' to Join Indonesia for FIFA Series 2026

March 27, 2026 | 09:42 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian national team defender Elkan Baggott says he's "extremely happy" and "honored" to join the Garuda squad after a long absence from the roster.

“I’m extremely happy to be here now [and] honored. It's my country, and I want to perform the best I can and make myself, my family, and the people of this country proud," Elkan says at a press conference ahead of the FIFA Series match against St. Kitts and Nevis at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta on Thursday, March 26, 2026, as quoted from Antara.

Elkan, who currently plays for the English club Ipswich, last represented Indonesia at the 2023 Asian Cup, which took place in January–February 2024. He later acknowledges that there were several reasons behind his absence but opted not to disclose them at this time.

“There's a few reasons why I've not been called to the national team; one that I'll probably leave today and come back another time. Now is probably not the right time to talk about it,” says Elkan.

Elkan believes the Indonesian national team has seen significant improvement, especially in standard of play and player quality.

The growing number of players plying their trade in Europe also positively affects the squad’s competitive streak, according to Elkan.

“I think there's a lot more playing in Europe, in top leagues, and these players set a high standard. I think the togetherness and team spirit [are] a lot higher than [they were] before,” he says.

The improvement in quality, Elkan says, fosters healthier competition among team players, which is expected to improve the Indonesian national team's future performance. 

“There's definitely more competition now than there was before, but we're a country national team that's trying to achieve bigger and better things. And to be able to do that, you need higher quality [players]," says Elkan.

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