The Indonesian National Team's Quartet Impresses in Europe's Top Leagues, a Vital Capital to Challenge Saudi Arabia and Iraq

About two weeks before the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the four main pillars of the Indonesian national team are increasingly asserting their quality in two top European leagues. Jay Idzes and Emil Audero showcased impressive abilities for their respective teams' defense in the Italian League, while Calvin Verdonk made his debut in the French League, and Kevin Diks remains irreplaceable in the German League.

Jay played his third consecutive match as a starting player and completed the game with Sassuolo. However, this impressive record resulted in a 1-2 defeat against Inter Milan at the San Siro Stadium, Milan, on Monday (22/9/2025) early morning WIB.

Sassuolo failed to maintain their winning achievement from last week after defeating Lazio 1-0. Goals from Federico Dimarco (14th minute) and an own goal by teammate Jay, Tarik Muharemovic (81st minute), could only be responded to by substitute striker Walid Cheddira in the 84th minute.

The 25-year-old defender performed quite well with a record of 89 percent accurate passes, further emphasizing his attributes as a modern center-back. In his defensive role, Idzes' performance was unmatched by his teammates. He made nine clearances, six ball recoveries, four duels won, and one last-man tackle.

In three appearances with "Si Hijau Hitam," the nickname for Sassuolo, Jay has recorded an average of 93 percent accurate passes per match, 30 percent accurate long passes per match, 70 touches per match, 67 percent tackle wins per match, five ball recoveries per match, and two duel wins per match.

Before joining the Indonesian national team in Saudi Arabia, Jay will still be guarding the defense of Sassuolo against Udinese and Hellas Verona. These two matches provide an opportunity for Fabio Grosso's team to gather additional points.

Grosso stated that Inter presents a significant challenge for his team. After playing four matches, Sassuolo remains in 14th place with three points.

"We're in a tough competition with many new players. All the players have shown we have plenty of room for improvement. The next match will pit us against a team of our own. So, we have to maximize our efforts to prove our quality and compete in the league," Grosso said, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Jay's teammate on Indonesia's defensive side, goalkeeper Emil Audero, also did not miss the opportunity to showcase a consistent performance with Cremonese. For two consecutive matches, Emil kept a clean sheet for "The Seahorse."

After fending off the attack from Hellas Verona last week, it was Parma's turn to be frustrated by Emil's actions in goal. Three accurate shots on target from Parma at the Giovanni Zini Stadium, Cremona, on Sunday (21/9/2025), were successfully anticipated by the goalkeeper on loan from Como.

Statistics site Fotmob gave Emil the highest rating in the Cremonese vs. Parma match, an 8. In two consecutive matches, Emil has consistently received the highest rating. The 28-year-old goalkeeper is the Cremonese player with the highest rating, with 7.86.

"The coach always asks us to perform decisively. It is very clear that for a team like Cremonese, fighting spirit is paramount. We must strive with the right spirit, hunger, and passion to achieve positive results," said Audero as reported on the Cremonese website.

For Emil, two consecutive matches without conceding a goal is his best record in the Italian Serie A. He has achieved this streak of clean sheets three times.

The last time Emil kept his goal clean in two consecutive matches was during the 2019-2020 season. At that time, specifically in November 2019, Emil's goal for Sampdoria remained "untouched" against SPAL and Atalanta.

The crew acknowledged that his performance with the Indonesian national team has helped him excel in the league. In the two exhibition matches this September, he also did not concede any goals against Taiwan and Lebanon. Undoubtedly, Emil has now played four consecutive matches without conceding.

"When performing well with the national team, I bring that ability to maintain a positive situation, and mentally, it can alleviate the burden," said the player who graduated from the Juventus Academy.

"In October, a very important phase awaits us. We are not the favorites, but it will be very interesting to try to qualify for the World Cup, which will be historic," he stated.

In France, Verdonk finally made his debut for Lille. He came on in the 18th minute to replace the injured Romain Perraud. Although he failed to prevent Lille from losing 0-3 to Lens at the Bollaert-Delelis Stadium in Lens on Saturday (September 20, 2025), Fotmob gave Verdonk a green card.

The former NEC Nijmegen player was given a score of 7.2. In fact, that figure is the highest rating for a Lille player who participated in the fifth week match of the 2025-2026 French League.

Verdonk produced 79 percent accurate passes, nine ball recoveries, six duel wins, one blocked opponent's shot, and one created opportunity.

"The first footballer from Indonesia in the top tier of Ligue 1," wrote the caption of the post-match upload on Lille's Instagram account to welcome Verdonk, affectionately known as Loopy, to his debut.

Kevin Diks continues to prove his irreplaceable role for Borussia Moenchengladbach at the beginning of this season. Like Jay, Kevin has consistently played a key role and has completed all three recent Bundesliga matches.

Kevin helped Moenchengladbach withstand the onslaught of the home team, Bayer Leverkusen, at the BayArena Stadium on Monday WIB. Playing as a central defender in a three-center-back formation, Kevin was also actively involved in the attack, contributing three passes to the final third of Leverkusen's defense.

Although he has already gained the trust of Moenchengladbach Coach Eugen Polanski, Kevin remains determined to help his team achieve their first victory of the season. After playing four matches, Moenchengladbach is still winless and has only collected two points. They are currently stuck in the relegation zone, sitting in 17th place out of 18 teams in the German Bundesliga.