Jay Idzes Becomes The Best Player In The 2026 World Cup Qualification AFC

Jay Idzes (left) became the best player in the 2026 World Cup Qualification for the March 2024 edition (Instagram/@jayidzes).

JAKARTA - The Indonesian national team defender, Jay Idzes, managed to make a positive note in his debut with the Garuda Squad. This 23-year-old player was selected as the best player in the 2026 World Cup Qualification for the March 2024 edition based on the AFC poll.

Through its official website, the AFC held a vote valid until Monday, April 1, 2024, at 00.30 WIB. The players who entered the voting list were judged from the last two qualifying matches on the third and fourth matchdays, 21 and 26 March 2024.

Jay Idzes, who was on the voting list, then got 50 percent of the votes. While the other candidates, Mousa Al-Taamari (Yordania) got 20 percent of the vote, Omar Khrbin (Suriah) with 14 percent of the vote, Sharif Muhammad (Afghanistan) with 9 percent of the vote, and Oday Dabbagh (Palestinian) with 6 percent of the vote.

Jay Idzes' election to the list of the best players was not without reason. He was chosen after playing impressively in Indonesia's two matches against Vietnam.

The player who defended Serie B club, Venezia, played well when he debuted by helping Indonesia beat Vietnam 1-0 at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, March 21, 2024.

Five days later, Idzes scored one of the three Red-White Team goals in a 3-0 win over Vietnam at My Dinh Stadium, Hanoi.

"The presence of Idzes brings a wealth of experience because he has played in Dutch and Italian clubs," wrote AFC in its review quoted Tuesday, April 2, 2024.

"He helped Indonesia win two wins over their rivals in the regional area to strengthen the chances of advancing to the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers."

The success of two defeats Vietnam made Jay Idzes and his friends firmly in second place in Group F with a collection of seven points.

The Indonesian national team is now under Iraq, which has confirmed it will qualify for the next round.

With a four-point advantage over Vietnam in third place, the Indonesian national team only needed one win from the remaining two matches to advance to the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification.