The Good and Bad Between Maarten Paes and Ernando Ari

Sometimes fate does not align with plans. This is what the Indonesian national team is experiencing ahead of two matches in the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The intention was to strengthen the goalkeeper position by naturalizing Emil Audero. However, Emil is hindered by injury.

If Emil could perform. Approximately 280 million residents of Indonesia deserve to be much more confident in facing the 2026 World Cup. Regardless of the historical record of encounters against Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Emil in goal is one of the assets to confidently achieve positive results.

Before suffering a muscle injury ahead of the match against Como on September 27, Emil adorned the start of the 2025-2026 season with a collection of four clean sheets from six appearances.

The games consist of two matches with Cremonese and two matches for the Indonesian national team. A graduate of the Juventus academy and a Scudetto winner with Juve and Inter Milan, Emil is no stranger to the high-pressure and intense matches that will be presented in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

"This is football. This is life," said Emil, expressing his disappointment at not being able to join his compatriots in the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup.

"We are disappointed with Emil's absence. He has done an excellent job with the national team so far," said Indonesia's Coach Patrick Kluivert at a press conference ahead of the match, Tuesday (7/10/2025), at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah.

Without Emil, the Indonesian national team will rely on either Maarten Paes or Ernando Ari for the match against Saudi Arabia on Thursday (9/10/2025) at 00:15 WIB. Who is most deserving to fill the number one role since the kickoff?

In terms of quality, Maarten is still above Ernando. Since joining the "Garuda" squad in September 2024, the FC Dallas goalkeeper has displaced Ernando as Indonesia's main goalkeeper.

In the past year, Maarten has made eight appearances in the national team uniform. He had an impressive debut match with Indonesia when they held Saudi Arabia to a 1-1 draw in Jeddah during the opening match of the third round. Maarten's save of the penalty kick from Saudi captain Salem al-Dawsari was one of the best moments, as well as the first impression of the national team supporters towards him.

In the third round, Maarten recorded four matches without conceding a goal. He remained unbeaten while holding Australia to a goalless draw, and then triumphed over Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and China at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, Ernando has not had the opportunity to add to his caps for the Indonesian national team since the final game of the second round against the Philippines in June 2024. Three clean sheets are Ernando's record in four 2026 World Cup qualifying matches.

The goalkeeper of Persebaya Surabaya is certainly no stranger to international competition at the Asian level. He was Indonesia's main goalkeeper in the recent 2023 Asian Cup. Ernando is accustomed to playing under the pressure of major Asian teams, such as Iraq, Japan, and the 2022 World Cup champion, Argentina.

The decision of PSSI Chairman Erick Tohir and Kluivert to persuade Emil to defend his birthplace is indeed not unrelated to the symptoms of Maarten's declining performance and Ernando's recurring shoulder injury. During the 2025 Major League Soccer (MLS) season, Maarten has played in 22 matches.

Compared to the 2024 season, Maarten's performance has declined this year. He recorded an average of 1.78 goals conceded per game and made three penalty saves out of eight penalties faced during the 2024 season. In the 2025 season, Maarten has an average of two goals conceded per match and has not faced any penalties from seven situations against opposing penalties.

His clean sheet rate has also declined. Maarten has kept only 13 percent of his 22 matches this season, compared to 16 percent of his 2024 appearances.

Maarten made four saves per game with a 70 percent save rate. For the 2025 campaign, he only managed 2.9 saves per game with a 59 percent save rate.

Ernando has consistently appeared in all six matches of Persebaya in the BRI Super League 2025-2026. He recorded an average of 0.8 goals conceded per game. Ernando's save rate is 2.8 times per match, or 77 percent of the shots he faced. He achieved a clean sheet in 33 percent of his appearances during the first two months of the 2025-2026 season.

One advantage for Ernando ahead of facing Saudi is his physical condition, which is significantly better. Regular play in the Super League indicates that the 23-year-old goalkeeper is currently at his peak fitness level.

Meanwhile, Maarten has been sidelined since last July due to a hamstring injury. He only made the Dallas lineup on October 5th against the LA Galaxy. Maarten was on the bench for that match.

"Maarten has returned and is back with the FC Dallas squad. Ernando has had good preparation. Whoever takes the field, we have a quality substitute (Emil)," said Kluivert.

Referring to the current situation, Kluivert has a great opportunity to use two different goalkeepers when facing Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Maarten or Ernando, both possess equal abilities to serve as the last line of defense for the Indonesian national team, which plays a crucial role in the journey towards the 2026 World Cup.