Jakarta. Indonesian national team goalkeeper Maarten Paes considers the two fourth-round matches of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers in the Asian zone to be the biggest matches in Indonesian football history. The Garuda team is scheduled to face Saudi Arabia on Thursday (October 9) at 12:15 a.m. WIB and Iraq on Sunday (October 12) at 2:30 a.m. WIB at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium in Jeddah.
According to him, the results of these two matches will be very decisive in determining Indonesia’s progress towards the most prestigious football event in the world.
“This is a huge match, perhaps the biggest in Indonesian football history. But as one of the league’s coaches said, sometimes you have to play for the game, not the moment,” said Maarten, as quoted by FC Dallas’ official account on Monday (October 6, 2025).
Maarten emphasized that the Indonesian national team should not be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moment, but rather focus on the game. “If we can play freely and enjoy the match, our chances of winning are very high,” he added.
Recovered from Injury and Ready for Battle
The 27-year-old goalkeeper has just recovered from an injury that has sidelined him since last August. The injury forced Maarten to miss the national team’s two friendlies against Taiwan and Lebanon in Surabaya last month.
After recovering, Maarten immediately appeared for FC Dallas against the LA Galaxy in the 2025 Major League Soccer (MLS) season on Sunday (October 5th). It was his first appearance after a lengthy absence, and he led his team to a 2-1 victory and extended their unbeaten streak to eight straight matches.
Maarten said that victory also served as a boost of enthusiasm ahead of playing for the national team.
“The positive result was very inspiring. We learned how to be a solid team and fight together. I want to bring that spirit to the Indonesian national team,” he said.
Big Dreams Towards the World Cup
For Maarten, qualifying for the World Cup would be a tremendous achievement, especially since the 2026 tournament will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada—one of which is the country where he currently plays his career.
“It would mean everything to me and to this country. The World Cup will also be played in the United States, with nine matches taking place in Dallas. It would be special to compete with the national team and then play in the city where I play every week,” he said.
The Nijmegen, Netherlands-born goalkeeper also has fond memories of facing Saudi Arabia. In the two previous meetings in the third qualifying round, he starred, saving a penalty in a 1-1 draw in Jeddah and keeping a clean sheet in Indonesia’s 2-0 victory in Jakarta.
Now, he returns to the same city, carrying a big mission: to help Indonesia take a step further towards the 2026 World Cup.
“First against Saudi Arabia, then Iraq. After that, hopefully we can celebrate on the plane home,” he said with an optimistic smile.
Go Go Indonesia!