Time for Kluivert to Replace Main Goalkeeper, Is Emil Audero Worthy of Replacing Maarten Paes?

Under the spotlight of the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta, the Indonesian national team's goalkeeping coach, Sjoerd Woudenberg, began an official training session ahead of the match against Bahrain on Monday night (24/3/2025) by testing the two best goalkeepers, Maarten Paes and Emil Audero.

Woudenberg, the former goalkeeper coach of Dewa United, assisted by two backup goalkeepers, Ernando Ari and Nadeo Argawinata, fired shots toward Maarten and Emil, who were guarding two goals on opposite sides. The two goalkeepers were tested in anticipating close-range shots and one-on-one situations.

Not only must Maarten and Emil be quick to fly to block the ball, but they are also required to step out from under the goalpost to swiftly close the shooting space of opposing players approaching their goal.

During the training session, Maarten and Emil made remarkable saves. They blocked direct shots with their hands and often used their feet to reach balls that were beyond the reach of their hands.

The low ball is not a problem for Maarten and Paes. One-on-one situations can also be anticipated well by both of them. However, in that training session, Maarten was overwhelmed in anticipating the placing shot that went to the corner of the goal.

Ernando managed to shake the net guarded by the FC Dallas goalkeeper three times with a shooting style that prioritized accuracy over power. Maarten showed an annoyed face when he failed to block the Persebaya Surabaya player's shot.

The special goalkeeper training session showcased the quality of Maarten and Emil, who are currently the best goalkeepers of the Indonesian national team. Maarten has already played in seven matches during the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Meanwhile, Emil is still awaiting his debut in the Garuda jersey.

After Maarten conceded five goals in Sydney, Emil's opportunity to play his first match for the Indonesian national team opened up in the game against Bahrain on Tuesday (25/3/2025) at 8:45 PM WIB. However, is the Palermo goalkeeper worthy of replacing Maarten?

Maarten began his presence in the Indonesian national team with brilliance. He helped Indonesia hold off two Asian giants, Saudi Arabia and Australia, in the first two matches of Group C in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Conceding only once in those two games has opened the hope for the "Garuda" squad to qualify for the grandest stage of football.

However, after that, Maarten conceded two goals each against Bahrain and China. Then, he let in four goals from Japan. After briefly recording a clean sheet against Saudi Arabia, Maarten was overwhelmed, conceding five goals against Australia.

In total, 14 goals have been scored against Maarten. Indonesia's number of goals conceded is only better than China's 17 goals.

Referring to the performance of both goalkeepers at the club, especially after the turn of the year, Emil clearly has great capital to gain the trust as the main goalkeeper for the Indonesian national team in the decisive match against Bahrain.

Monitoring the statistics of both goalkeepers since January 2025 is relevant, because Maarten has just started the new season of the United States League. Meanwhile, Emil began a new adventure in Palermo after being recruited from Como in the last winter transfer market.

Maarten and Emil have both conceded eight goals for their clubs. The difference is that Emil has done so in six games and has managed two clean sheets.

Emil, who is a graduate of the Juventus academy, collects an average of 1.3 goals conceded per game. His save rate is also quite high at 74 percent per game.

Meanwhile, Maarten, who has always conceded in the first four games of the MLS season, has collected an average of two goals conceded per game. Maarten's save percentage with Dallas is 60 percent per game.

Despite conceding eight goals in six games, Emil was able to prevent his goal from conceding more. Referring to Footystats, Palermo recorded 11.91 expected goals against (xGA). That means Emil was able to prevent his team from conceding almost four more goals.

On the other hand, Maarten conceded eight goals from 5.71 xGA. This indicates that Maarten's performance should have been better so as not to concede two more goals.

Emil's actions are also much more prominent than Maarten's. In terms of diving saves, Emil did 11 times with Palermo. Meanwhile, Maarten only did seven.

Emil made 16 saves in the box. Maarten made six saves in the box.

Then, Emil also collected more ball recovery actions (recoveries) for his team. He recorded 61 recoveries. Meanwhile, Maarten only created 22 ball recoveries.

One interesting statistical note is Maarten's poor high claim or aerial ball catching action. In fact, aerial ball winning action is very important to reduce the opponent's dead ball opportunities, such as corner kicks or indirect free kicks.

Maarten has made just one aerial catch with Dallas this season. Meanwhile, Maarten has not made a single aerial catch in seven games with the Indonesian national team.

Unsurprisingly, he has already conceded three goals from corner kicks. One goal came away in Bahrain, then two goals came against Australia.

With Bahrain's skill in utilizing dead balls, especially corner kicks, to hunt for goals, Indonesian coach Patrick Kluivert needs a goalkeeper who can minimize the potential for opponents to win aerial duels.

High claim action is not an easy matter. The goalkeeper must be able to determine the best momentum to catch the ball in the air. If it fails, then it will certainly backfire on his team. Emil has made 15 aerial catches with Palermo this season.

Despite his inferior saves compared to Emil, Maarten has a good stock of passing accuracy. He collected 74 percent accurate passes compared to only 58 percent for Emil.

Maarten's long pass accuracy also reached 65 percent. He produced 11.3 accurate long passes per game. Meanwhile, Emil only made 7.3 accurate long passes per goal with an accuracy rate of only 35 percent. Maarten's expertise is certainly important in the process of building attacks from the defensive line.

With the respective advantages of the two best goalkeepers, Kluivert has the prerogative to determine the goalkeeper in order to pursue victory against Bahrain.

After conceding five goals in Sydney, will Kluivert still prioritize Maarten, leaving Emil, who has won two scudettos, to warm the bench? It is natural that there will be changes, the Garuda squad needs a new face under the crossbar…