The 24-year-old possesses a determination that belies his youth and it is little wonder he is the first name on the team sheet for head coach Shin Tae-yong.

Football is in the blood of a player who represented his country consistently at youth level, with Indonesia’s Liga 1 outfit PSM Makassar central to his development.His father Bahar Muharram is a former player who currently works as a coach at PSM while Asnawi’s uncle Ansar Razak played for the club before his death in a traffic accident in 1998. His cousin, Sulthan Zaky, is a current member of the PSM Makassar squad.

It was at Makassar that Asnawi established himself, spending four seasons with the club before becoming the first Indonesian to move to Korea Republic in 2021 when he joined K League 2 side Ansan Greeners.

He played more than 40 times for the Gwangyang-based side before a switch at the start of 2023 to Jeonnam Dragons, where he was a regular throughout the recently-concluded campaign and played as left-back and in midfield as well as in his usual spot at right back.At international level, Asnawi made his debut for Indonesia in March 2017 against Myanmar aged 17 years and 167 days old, when he played the final 35 minutes as a substitute to become the youngest player to represent his country.

That record has since been eclipsed by Ronaldo Kwateh and it was not until May 2021 – following the arrival of Shin as national team boss – that he became a regular member of the squad.

Shin picked Asnawi to face Oman in a friendly and he has, fitness permitting, been present ever since, earning a total of 36 caps to date.He was first made captain during the COVID-19 delayed AFF Championship in Singapore in 2021 when he wore the armband in the group stage meeting with Vietnam and went on lead the team to the final, where the Indonesians lost to Thailand.

While he briefly relinquished the armband, he has been the captain throughout the second half of 2023, including in the Preliminary Joint Qualification – Round 2 for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 matches against Iraq and the Philippines.