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Defender Jay Idzes (number 4) celebrates the first goal of Indonesia’s 3-0 victory against Vietnam at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi on March 26, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy |
Idzes made a perfect debut for Indonesia, playing two matches, in the 1-0 and 3-0 wins over Vietnam. Not only did he help Indonesia keep a clean sheet after both matches, but the midfielder also scored the first goal in the ninth minute and kicked off Indonesia’s first victory at My Dinh Stadium after 20 years .
“Idzes has a lot of experience playing for clubs in the Netherlands and Italy,” the AFC wrote. The 23-year-old centre-back didn’t have to wait long for his first international goal either, heading home a Thom Haye corner to open the scoring in a 3-0 win over the Philippe Troussier as Indonesia achieved a double against their regional team. rivals to boost their chances of reaching the third round.
Other 11 stars selected by the AFC include Son Heung-min (South Korea), Craig Goodwin (Australia), Patiwat Khammai (Thailand), Omar Khrbin (Syria), Joel Kojo (Kyrgyzstan) and Sharif Mukhammad (Afghanistan) . Eldor Shomurodov (Uzbekistan), Sultan Adil (UAE), Mousa Al Taamari (Jordan), Wu Lei (China) and Oday Dabbagh (Palestine).
Idzes is a regular starter for Venezia in the Italian second division Serie B. Previously, he played 57 matches for FC Eindhoven in the Dutch first division from 2018 to 2020. In the 2020–21 season, Idzes joined another Dutch club , Go Ahead. Eagles, and helped the team gain promotion to the First Division. The 24-year-old defender stayed for two more seasons making 60 appearances before joining Italy.
The 1.9m tall defender was born in the Netherlands to Indonesian grandparents. Idzes completed his naturalization process in December 2023, but was unable to register in time for the 2023 Asian Cup. His presence in two matches against Vietnam during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers completely filled the space for injured defenders Jordi Amat and Elkan Baggott.
In addition to the goal, Idzes left an impression when he lifted the ball over Nguyen Van Toan’s head in Indonesia’s 1–0 win over Vietnam on March 21. The video of this action went viral on Indonesian social networks with millions of views.
“I was delighted when the play went viral on social media. It’s good for me and the team to be known by more people,” he said.
Besides Idzes, Indonesia currently has 11 other naturalized players: goalkeeper Maarten Paes who plays for FC Dallas in the United States, defenders Justin Hubner (Cerezo Osaka – Japan), Nathan Tjoe Aon (SC Heerenveen – Netherlands) , Sandy Walsh (Mechelen – Belgium), Jordi Amat (Johor Darul Ta’zim – Malaysia), Shayne Pattynama (Eupen – Belgium), midfielders Ivar Jenner (Utrecht – Netherlands), Thom Haye (SC Heerenveen – Country -Bas), Marc Klok (Persib Bandung – Indonesia), striker Rafael Struick (ADO Den Haag – Netherlands), Ragnar Oratmagoen (Fortuna Sittard – Netherlands).
Indonesia are second in Group F of the 2026 World Cup second qualifying round, with seven points, four ahead of Vietnam, so the team is almost certain to qualify for the third qualifying round. In the final two matches in June, Indonesia will face the Philippines and Iraq at home.
