Video shows Japanese striker talking about World Cup, not announcing switch to Indonesia

"Japanese player joins the national team," read the Indonesian-language caption to a video posted on TikTok on November 27, 2024.

The video, which was viewed more than 1.1 million times, begins with Japanese striker Ayase Ueda being interviewed.

According to the superimposed Indonesian-language subtitles, he says: "Today, I will leave Japan because they have abandoned me. That's why I will join the 'Garuda' national team."

The video's narrator adds, "Ayase Ueda, the striker of the Japan national team, was officially announced as an Indonesian citizen after undergoing a lengthy and highly speculative naturalisation process."

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Screenshot of the false TikTok post, captured on December 10, 2024

Similar clips were also shared on TikTok and SnackVideo.

The posts surfaced after Indonesia stunned Saudi Arabia 2-0 to jumpstart their hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup in North America (archived link).

The result lifted the team to third place in their World Cup qualifying group with six points -- a point behind Australia in the second, and final, automatic qualifying position for the tournament -- with four matches to play.

Their bid to return to the World Cup for the first time since 1938 has been spearheaded by a large contingent of Netherlands-born players under the charge of South Korean coach Shin Tae-yong (archived link).

While other countries have also naturalised players, the extent to which Indonesia has done so is striking -- squads have included as many as 10 Dutch-born players after football officials intensely recruited from the Indonesian diaspora in its former colonial ruler.

But Arya Sinulingga, an executive committee member of the Indonesian football association, told AFP there are no plans to naturalise Ueda.

"There is so much misinformation about Indonesian football. This is another example of it," he told AFP on December 4.

Squad reveal reaction

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the clip led to the original interview, uploaded to the YouTube channel of Belgian football club Cercle Brugge on November 1, 2022 (archived link).

The YouTube video was titled, "Ayase Ueda - Japan | FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar | First reaction on full squad reveal".

Below is a screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the YouTube video (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the YouTube video (right)

In the video, Ueda speaks in Japanese about being chosen to represent Japan at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

"I'm very happy and very proud of myself as a football player," he said.

"I also think I've acquired a lot of things during the four months I've spent playing for Cercle Brugge, so I hope I can bring all of that to the forefront and lead the team to victory," Ueda added.

Ueda started one match at the tournament, coming off at half-time in Japan's 1-0 group stage loss to Costa Rica (archived link).

His appearance at the World Cup also makes him ineligible to switch countries, according to FIFA's eligibility rules (archived link).

Ueda has since become Japan's starting forward, and scored eight goals in eight World Cup qualifying matches before an injury ruled him out for the rest of 2024 (archived links here and here).

AFP has debunked other misinformation about the Indonesian national team circulating in the football-mad nation here, here and here.