sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Muhammad Rafli (born 24 November 1998) is an Indonesian professional footballer who plays for Liga 1 club Arema, and the Indonesia national team. A versatile player, Rafli plays as a midfielder or forward, and has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an attacking midfielder, second striker, centre forward and on either wing. Rafli began to be known when he was selected in 2016 to attend the now-defunct Nike Academy, a program run by Nike Inc. for selected under-20 players scouted worldwide known as 'Nike Most Wanted' players. The only other Indonesian who participated in this academy was the national team's current playmaker Evan Dimas, in 2012.

Muhammad Rafli

Personal information
Full name	Muhammad Rafli
Date of birth	(1998-11-24) 24 November 1998 (age 23)[1]
Place of birth	Malang, Indonesia
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder, forward
Club information
Current team	Arema
Number	10
Youth career
2006–2014	ASIOP Apacinti
2016	Bhayangkara
2016–2017	ASIFA
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–	Arema	80	(7)
National team‡
2016	Indonesia U19	4	(2)
2019–2021	Indonesia U23	10	(5)
2021–	Indonesia	8	(0)
Honours Men's football Representing  Indonesia Southeast Asian Games 2019 Philippines Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 October 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 September 2022

Club career

Early career

He began to pursue soccer by entering the Aji Santoso International Football Academy (ASIFA) in his hometown of Malang. ASIFA, founded by former national team captain and coach Aji Santoso, is a feeder for Arema F.C. and other professional teams in East Java.

Arema FC

Rafli signed his first professional contract with Arema F.C. in January 2017. Rafli made his Arema debut on 23 April 2017 in a Liga 1 match against Bhayangkara in a 2–0 home win.[2] He scored his first league goal on 2 October 2019. It was the first goal in a 0–2 victory against PSM Makassar in the Liga 1.[3] On 16 December 2019, he scored in a 3–2 win over Bali United.[4]

On 3 October 2021, Rafli scored his first goal of the 2021–22 season, scoring from the free-kick in the 34th minute, final result, Arema win 3–0 over Persela Lamongan in the 2021–22 Liga 1.[5] On 23 October, he scored the opening goal with scoring from the free-kick in the 4th minute, final result, Arema win 2–0 over Persiraja Banda Aceh.[6] On 6 November, he scored in a Super East Java Derby against Persebaya Surabaya, final result, Arema draw 2–2.[7]

International career

Rafli made his international debut for Indonesia U-19 on 14 September 2016 against Thailand U-19. [8] and he scoring one goal against Laos on 18 September 2016. [9].He made his international debut for Indonesia U-23 on 7 June 2019 against Thailand U-23 and scored three goals against Philippines U-23 on 9 June 2019, both at 2019 Merlion Cup. Rafli was part of the Indonesia team that won silver in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines. He received a call to join the senior Indonesian national football team in May 2021. He earned his first senior cap in a 25 May 2021 unofficial FIFA friendly match in Dubai against Afghanistan, in which he was also the team captain.[10][11]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 1 October 2022[12]

Club	Season	League			Cup[lower-alpha 1]		Continental		Other[lower-alpha 2]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Arema	2017	Liga 1	7	0	0	0	—		1	0	8	0
	2018	Liga 1	19	0	0	0	—		1	0	20	0
	2019	Liga 1	17	2	2	1	—		5	0	24	3
	2020	Liga 1	3	0	0	0	—		0	0	3	0
	2021–22	Liga 1	27	5	0	0	—		0	0	27	5
	2022–23	Liga 1	7	0	0	0	—		6	1	13	1
Career total			80	7	2	1	0	0	13	1	95	9

International

As of match played 27 September 2022

Indonesia national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2021	3	0
2022	5	0
Total	8	0

International under-23 goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	9 June 2019	Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang, Singapore	Philippines	1–0	5–0	2019 Merlion Cup
2.				3–0
3.				4–0
4.	13 November 2019	Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Gianyar, Indonesia	Iran	1–0	1–1	Friendly Match
5.	16 November 2019	Pakansari Stadium, Bogor, Indonesia		1–0	2–1

Honours

Club

Arema

• Indonesia President's Cup: 2017,[13] 2019,[14] 2022[15]

International

Indonesia U23

• Southeast Asian Games Silver medal: 2019[16]

Individual

• Merlion Cup Top Goalscorer: 2019 (3 goals)

References

External links

• Muhammad Rafli at Soccerway
• Muhammad Rafli at Liga Indonesia
• Muhammad Rafli at National-Football-Teams.com

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