Maarten Paes Proud Of Debuting With The Indonesian National Team Against Saudi Arabia

Maarten Paes became a hero by making a brilliant save from Dalem Al-Dawsari's penalty kick (photo: ig @maartenpaes)

JAKARTA - The goalkeeper of the Indonesian national team, Maarten Paes, expressed his pride after making his debut with Garuda in the match against Saudi Arabia on Friday 6 September morning WIB. Through uploads on his personal Instagram account, Paes expressed his happiness at being able to appear for the first time to defend Indonesia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

"Feeling proud to be able to make a debut with the Indonesian national team against Saudi Arabia! An important point in the away match "Obviously," Paes wrote in his post.

In that match, Indonesia managed to hold Saudi Arabia to a 1-1 draw, an important result to start the journey in the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers in the Asia Group C zone. Ragnar Oratmangoen scored Indonesia's goal, before Saudi Arabia equalized through Musab Fahd Aljuwayr.

In addition, Paes also became a hero by making a brilliant save from Dalem Al-Dawsari's penalty kick, which kept the score even and ensured that Indonesia brought home one important point from this away match.

Paes, who plays Major League Soccer (MLS) with FC Dallas, hopes to make a bigger contribution to the upcoming matches and continues to bring positive results to the Indonesian national team.