Sandy Walsh Becomes An Indonesian Teacher For Maarten Paes

JAKARTA - The harmony of the Indonesian national team players off the field seems to be one of the aspects that made their appearance in the 2026 World Cup Qualification Third Round.

One of them can be seen from the relationship between Sandy Walsh and Maarten Paes.

Paes, who is the latest naturalized player, was warmly welcomed by Walsh. He acknowledged that the right-back is now his close friend at the Garuda Squad.

This close relationship was created because Walsh was happy to teach Maarten Paes Indonesian.

"I'm learning Indonesian. I study with Sandy (Walsh) every day in my room. I also have books (Indonesian) that I study," said Maarten Paes.

"He's a great person, very funny. He's very funny and warm for everyone who just came with him in the room. So, yes, he's amazing," he said again.

So excited to learn Indonesian to facilitate communication with colleagues in the Indonesian national team, Paes dared to express his belief that he would be able to be interviewed in Indonesian next month.

"This (learning Indonesian) makes me better. So, maybe next month, I can fully interview in Indonesian," he said.

Next month, the Indonesian national team will continue their journey in the Third Round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.

Shin Tae-yong's team will play two away matches against Bahrain and China on 10 and 15 October 2024.

Maarten Paes also promised to make a big contribution to the Indonesian national team so that they could make history in qualifying for the World Cup.

"My goal is to make a big contribution to the Indonesian national team's game," said Maarten Paes.

Currently, all Indonesian national team players have returned to their respective clubs after undergoing two matches of the 2026 World Cup Qualification Third Round.

In those two matches, the Garuda Squad achieved positive results. They got two points after holding back the series of strong teams of Saudi Arabia (1-1) and Australia (0-0).