Paes: World Cup is a beautiful dream for Indonesia

New Garuda goalkeeper tells FIFA of his love for Indonesia, bonding with his team-mates and the goal of returning the side to the World Cup.

• Indonesia are undefeated in the third round of AFC World Cup qualifiers
• Newly naturalised keeper Paes has started his Garuda career in impressive fashion
• Dutch-born stopper is part of a huge wave of naturalised talent for the nation

For someone who only made his international debut last month, new Indonesia international Maarten Paes already has a significant online following.

As is the case with most Garuda stars, fans idolise him, following his daily activities both at club and international level and he’s already gathered close to two million followers on Instagram.

Born in Nijmegen and a Netherlands youth international all the way up to U-21 level, Paes’ loyalties now lie with Indonesia. Tapping into family ties through his grandmother, who was born in the city of Kediri and lived there for several years before the outbreak of World War II, the towering goalkeeper is the latest in a long list of naturalised Garuda stars.

“The connection with Indonesia comes through my grandmother. She was a very special person in my life. My grandparents were my godparents,” Paes explained when discussing his Indonesian roots in an exclusive interview with FIFA. “My grandmother always taught me about Indonesian culture. I’ve known for a few years I was eligible to play for the Indonesian national team.

“At the end of last year, the [Indonesian federation] PSSI approached me, around the time that my grandmother’s health was rapidly declining. That was one of our last memories together. The news that I would be playing for Indonesia made her smile for the last time. I saw how special it was when I told her. In the end, it was an easy decision. She passed away earlier this year so she didn’t get to see my debut.”

After a lengthy process to formalise his eligibility, the 26-year-old finally made his debut in a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia in the third round of Asian qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2026™ on 5 September.

A solid performance in an impressive 1-1 draw in Jeddah was backed up five days later with a scoreless clash against Australia in the cauldron of the Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta where a string of impressive saves from Paes helped preserve the Garuda’s unbeaten start to the third round of qualifiers.

“As you’d expect, I was curious about my new team-mates, how they would react and respond to situations, but I think we bonded quickly,” he said.

“In both games, I was able to make a lot of saves, stopping a lot of good shots. I think, overall, as a team, we were strong defensively. It was truly incredible, especially in the second match in Jakarta, with 80,000 fans in the stands. They gave so much energy that it wasn’t hard to give our all.”

Following those two outstanding performances, Paes already feels like a player who has been in the Indonesian side for years, despite certain linguistic and cultural barriers.

“The difference in cultures is not that significant for me. There are many things in common, I believe, with how I live my life and how the culture is there,” he explained. “I think the biggest challenge for me is the flight time and adapting to the time difference. In two days, sometimes you have to play straight away. That’s a huge challenge. But fortunately, I’ve been ready for it.

“I have a great team around me who help me deal with those issues. And I think, yeah, I’m up for the challenge. For me, that was the only real problem. Everything else has gone smoothly, and I’m enjoying learning the language too. I think in the next few months, everything will get even easier.”

Like all footballers, Paes, on the books of MLS side FC Dallas, has big dreams of playing on the World Cup stage, and that’s something he’s striving to achieve with Indonesia.

“I think it’s a beautiful dream. We need to have big goals, to reach for the stars. For me, the 2026 World Cup being in the USA will be even more special, having lived here and seen how the league and the popularity of football are growing in this country,” he explained.

“I think it’s something the fans here really deserve – to experience a World Cup. And I think if you look at our team, how young it is, there’s so much potential for growth in the future. I believe we can look forward to the next few World Cups. There are many opportunities for us and it’s truly wonderful to witness this first hand. It’s something you think about every day as you work towards that goal.”