U’s winger wins match-winning thriller in World Cup qualifier

MARSELINO Ferdinand scored a match-winning goal as Indonesia beat Saudi Arabia in a World Cup qualifier.

The Oxford The United winger opened the scoring just after the half hour and then doubled his tally shortly before the hour mark.

Ferdinand’s first goal saw him collect the ball on the left wing and drive forward before pushing a pass to teammate Ragnar Oratmangoen on the outside.

Ferdinand continued his inside run and received a cutback inside the penalty area from the Oratmangoen and he then fooled a defender before firing across goal with his right foot.

The 20-year-old’s thrill came when he latched on to a loose ball just inside the box and saw a strike denied before pouncing on the rebound to slot an effort past Ahmed Al-Kassar in the Saudi goal.

With 12 minutes left, Ferdinan was replaced by Pratama Arhan.

The 2-0 victory lifted Indonesia into third place in their 2026 World Cup qualifying group.

Ferdinand previously played just under a quarter of an hour from the bench as Indonesia lost 4-0 to Japan last week.