Indonesia’s challenge for a first World Cup appearance in almost 90 years takes on a distinctly Dutch flavour when Shin Tae-yong’s side face Saudi Arabia on Thursday hoping to ignite dreams of a long-awaited return to the game’s greatest stage. Not since their debut in 1938 has the archipelago, then known as the Dutch East Indies, appeared at a World Cup but, with the finals growing to 48 nations in 2036, efforts to return have quickly gathered momentum. Nine players in the squad that defeated the Philippines at a sold-out Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta in June were born in the Netherlands, from whom Indonesia gained independence in 1949. “It’s a boost for everyone that we can go to the next round,” said Amsterdam-born midfielder Thom Haye, who scored the opener in the 2-0 win over the Philippines.

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia were held to a 1-1 draw by Indonesia in Jeddah on Thursday on a day of surprises in Asia as the third round of World Cup qualification began. It was very much a case of two points dropped against the lowest-ranked team in Group C, especially as Salem Al-Dawsari saw a penalty saved with 11 minutes remaining. However, it could have been worse. Hours earlier, group rivals Australia had crashed to a 1-0 loss at home to Bahrain and, for a while, it looked as if Saudi boss Roberto Mancini was about to suffer a similar humiliation. Indonesia may be Asia’s most improved team and bolstered by the naturalization of several European-based players, but they arrived for the clash ranked 133 in the world, a full 77 places below the hosts. No wonder home fans at the King Abdullah Sports City expected a comfortable win.

Saudi Arabia took time to get going and had not really threatened before the visitors took the lead after 19 minutes. Ragnar Oratmangoen cut inside on the right edge of the area and his fierce shot deflected off Sandy Walsh and past the helpless Mohammed Al-Owais. The Indonesian fans went crazy as did the coaching staff, led by South Korean Shin Tae-yong. While it shook Saudi Arabia into action, chances were still hard to come by. Mohamed Kanno shot just wide and then Al-Hilal teammate Salem Al-Dawsari, sporting the captain’s armband, started to get into the game. The introduction of AS Roma’s new signing Saud Abdulhamid on the right side just after 30 minutes also gave the hosts a bit more bite and balance. 

The final pass was not quite there though, and the Southeast Asians looked dangerous on the break. Then, just before the break, the home team got the break they needed. Musab Al-Juwayr had control of the ball on the edge of the area but his shot took a major deflection on its way to the back of the net to bring a sense of relief all around the stadium. It surely changed the halftime team talks of both bosses. Al-Nassr’s Abdulrahman Ghareeb came on at the start of the second half and should have done better three minutes in when, after some sloppy Indonesian play, he blasted a shot over and wide from a good position.

Saudi Arabia were applying pressure at last, however, and a second goal did not look to be too far away. Even so, the visitors looked to hit on the break and, for the neutral at least, the game started to open up in an entertaining fashion. With 20 minutes remaining, Saudi Arabia were on top but Mancini, wearing a shirt and tie, looked worried on the sidelines. Al-Dawsari shot just wide from outside the area as the teams started to look a little tired on a humid evening. In the 76th minute, the hosts went even closer but Abdulhamid’s header came back off a post with goalkeeper Maarten Paes beaten. However, moments later Paes gave away a penalty while trying to play out from the back. He ended up bringing down Firas Al-Buraikan and up stepped Al-Dawsari, the goalkeeper making amends for his mistake by making a diving save to his left.

It sparked Saudi Arabia to even greater efforts. With two minutes to play, Kanno’s shot from outside the area was saved by Paes and the rebound went across the face of goal with no one on hand to hit home. It was an agonizing sight for the home fans, but the winning goal never came, although Al-Buraikan saw a one-on-one chance spurned. Next comes an away game in China on Tuesday to face a team thrashed 7-0 in Japan and desperate for some improvement. Saudi Arabia will need to improve too. There are still nine games to go and the top two places that bring automatic qualification are still within reach, but the start should have been better. On the other hand, on what was a crazy day in Asia, it could have been worse. You have come to the Philippines Edition, for other ESPN editions, click here.

As he made his international bow as part of an underdog outfit in the daunting cauldron that is Jeddah's 62,345-capacity King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Maarten Paes would have been fearing the worst as the Asian qualifier for the 2026 FIFA World Cup between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia approached its climax. With 13 minutes remaining in Thursday's Group C tie and the scores tied at 1-1, there appeared to be little danger as Paes -- who was only cleared to represent Indonesia a fortnight ago after representing Netherlands at age-group level -- received a backpass inside his own area and began to assess the options ahead of him. Failing to see anything he immediately fancied, he held on to possession for a while longer -- and that is when calamity ensued for the FC Dallas goalkeeper.

In a blink of an eye, Saudi Arabia striker Firas Al-Buraikan had not only closed him down but made full use of his lanky frame to nip in and win possession. With a half-reflex, half-desperate attempt, Paes swung out a leg of his own only to hack Al-Buraikan down and concede a penalty. In his debut for Indonesia, who he qualified to play for through his grandmother, the 26-year-old appeared destined to play the role of villain -- the culprit behind an inevitable defeat against far more illustrious opposition on an evening that had started promisingly for the plucky Indonesians. For Indonesia, sitting 133rd on the world rankings and 77 places below Saudi Arabia, were never expected to get anything out of Thursday's contest and yet, remarkably, found themselves ahead after 19 minutes when Ragnar Oratmangoen's speculative effort ricocheted off teammate Sandy Walsh before finding the back of the net.

Somehow, Indonesia were leading -- away to Saudi Arabia, who famously pulled off a 2-1 win over eventual champions Argentina at the last World Cup. The hosts were always going to issue a response yet, even when they did equalise just before halftime with a deflected strike of their own via Musab Al-Juwayr, Indonesia were still on course for a memorable draw. The fact that it seemed as though it was going to be an individual error, rather than a moment of quality from the opponents, that would snatch the result from their grasp would have made for a bitter pill to swallow. An individual error from a foreign-born player with excellent credentials, who Indonesian fans would have imagined would be coming into the team to help win games rather than lose them.

Paes, however, had other ideas. Stepping up to take the penalty Paes had conceded was Saudi Arabia's talismanic captain Salem Al-Dawsari, the continent's Player of the Year in 2022 who had scored in that stunning triumph over Argentina. Up till that point, Al-Dawsari had been the Green Falcons' best player and was the one who initially sparked them when they had fallen behind. If there was anyone who was going to handle the pressure, it would be the Al Hilal man. But in spite of Al-Dawsari's stuttering run-up, with a brief but deliberate pause that usually does the trick with most goalkeepers, Paes refused to commit. He stood tall -- almost as if he was welcoming the mind games -- and, ultimately, would be the one to produce the clutch moment as he eventually threw his body to the left to make the save when Al-Dawsari had finally decided to fire a shot away.

Having gone from villain to hero, Paes would then elevate himself to saviour status with another brilliant stop in injury-time to deny Al-Buraikan one-on-one as Indonesia, in the end, did come away with a draw that will live long in the memory. And despite the desperate manner in which they achieved it, Indonesia were arguably good value for the result. Although Saudi Arabia enjoyed the upper hand in possession, the visitors were largely well organised throughout the 90 minutes and also offered a threat of their own. Even deep into injury-time, they still looked to break forward in search of a winner of their own which, in hindsight, might have been rather rash and naïve given how big a result a draw already was. Among the recent additions to Indonesia's ranks, Jay Idzes -- handed the captain's armband in only his fourth cap -- was a monumental presence marshalling the defence, while the likes of Oratmangoen and Nathan Tjoe-A-On ran themselves into the ground.

Still, as he singlehandedly reversed his own fortunes through sheer nerves of steel, the night -- one that Indonesian football will cherish for quite some time -- definitely belonged to one man: the villain-turned-saviour Paes.