Maarten Paes Not Available In The First Match Of The 2026 World Cup Qualification, Ernando Ari Bersinar

Maarten Paes missed the first match of the Indonesian national team in the 2026 World Cup Qualification (Instagram/@maartenpaes).

The goalkeeper for the naturalization of the Indonesian national team, Maarten Paes, has certainly not been able to defend the Garuda Squad when he appeared in the first match of the Third Round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification.

This moment could then be an opportunity for Ernando Ari Sutaryadi to shine when he met Saudi Arabia.

The Indonesian national team visited Saudi Arabia's headquarters in the first match of the 2026 World Cup Qualification Third Round at King Abdullah Stadium, Friday, September 6, 2024, early morning WIB.

In that match, naturalized goalkeeper Maarten Paes was confirmed to be absent. Paes could not be played by coach Shin Tae-yong because he had not been registered for the match.

With Paes absent, Ernando Ari, who has been the main goalkeeper of the Indonesian national team, has the opportunity to appear as a starter. With a note, Ernando was not injured ahead of the match.

If Ernando is Shin Tae-yong's choice against Saudi Arabia, it will be his momentum to show evidence that he deserves to be the main choice behind the Garuda Squad's crossbar.

Moreover, recently the name Ernando is said to be evicted as the main goalkeeper of the Garuda Squad after Maarten Paes was able to defend the Indonesian national team.

The greatness of the Dutch-born goalkeeper with FC Dallas seemed to be a guarantee for Shin Tae-yong to make him the main choice.

If you pull data from the MLS website, this season Paes has made 99 saves. Paes' save ratio reached 71.7 percent of the total threat to the Dallas goal.

Meanwhile, in his last appearance with the Indonesian national team, Ernando made a blunder. After giving a penalty for Iraq in the Second Round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification, the Persebaya Surabaya goalkeeper also blundered Ali Jasim's goal.

Therefore, the arrival of Maarten Paes is good news for the Indonesian national team. However, after Paes was confirmed to be absent, Ernando needed to return to his best performance.