Maarten Paes had a debut to remember for Indonesia as the goalkeeper pulled off a Man of the Match performance in his side’s 1-1 draw away at Saudi Arabia in the first match of the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers on Thursday night.
Labeled as massive underdogs coming into their Group C opener, Indonesia shockingly took the lead in the 19th minute through Ragnar Oratmangoen, before Musab Al Juwayr’s deflected shot late into stoppage time drew things level. Paes then stepped in throughout the second half, denying one Saudi chance after another as Indonesia left the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium with a valuable point to their name.
The match began cautiously, but it was Indonesia who made the first significant move with early attempts from Oratmangoen and Rafael Struick.
Making their debut at this stage of the World Cup qualifiers, the Southeast Asian team kept up the pressure, and their aggressive play was rewarded in the 19th minute.
A misplaced pass from Abdullah Al Khaibari was seized by Struick, who passed it to Witan Sulaeman. Sulaeman then teed up Oratmangoen, whose shot deflected into the net for the opening goal.
Indonesia nearly extended their lead in the 27th minute when Sandy Walsh made a powerful run down the right wing, delivering a precise lob to Oratmangoen, but his header narrowly missed the target.
Indonesia looked dangerous with every forward push and had another close chance, but Sulaeman’s shot was easily collected by Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais.
Saudi Arabia responded by picking up their pace, with Saud Abdulhamid and Salem Al Dawsari posing a threat. Their persistence paid off in stoppage time of the first half.
Mohamed Kanno’s clever dummy run created an opening for Al Juwayr, whose shot took a deflection before finding the net.
A brief lapse in Indonesia’s defense almost allowed Saudi Arabia to take the lead in the 48th minute when goalkeeper Paes cleared the ball poorly, straight to Al Juwayr, who set up Abdulrahman Ghareeb. However, the substitute’s shot went wide.
Saudi Arabia continued to press and came close in the 75th minute when Abdulhamid’s header struck the right post, before Paes conceded a penalty in the 79th minute.
With the ever-deadly Al Dawsari taking the spot kick, FC Dallas goalie Paes made up for his earlier mistake by confidently deflecting Al Dawsari’s attempt with his palms.
Paes then ensured that Indonesia would return to Jakarta with a vital point after he denied Kanno’s late attempt in the 88th minute.