REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian national team will continue its fight in the third round of the 2026 Asian Cup Qualification Zone. Garuda's squad will face Australia on March 20 at the Sydney Football Stadium and on March 25 host Bahrain at the Gelora Bung Karno (SUGBK) Main Stadium in Senayan, Jakarta.
Indonesian national team head coach Patrick Kluivert has yet to announce the 27 players who will be called up for the two crucial matches in Group C. But the Dutch coach has already leaked that the players who will be called up have good playing minutes at their respective clubs.
But what he chose was a player who had a fair amount of playing minutes at the club. Preference is given to starting XI players at his club.
Kluivert's decision is also in line with the PSSI, which wants Indonesian national players to have a lot of playing time at their club, it doesn't matter what club they are and where they play. Minutes are very important for a player.
Indonesian national team members who have less minutes to play in their club are encouraged to look for a club that can guarantee sufficient playing time.
Therefore, when it will add new ammunition to the Indonesian national team, PSSI also pays attention to the players' playing minutes. And the three Indonesian players who are in the process of naturalization, Emil Audero Mulyadi, Joey Pallupessy, and Dean James, have significant playing minutes at their respective clubs. Here are the notes.
Emil Audero Mulyadi
There is no doubt that the goalkeeper who has the blood of West Lombok Nusa Tenggara from his father is a tough goalkeeper and full of playing experience, especially in the Italian League where he made his career.
For the 2024/2025 season, the player, who has a valuation of about Rp 86.19 billion, strengthens two different clubs. At the start of the season, he defended Serie A club Como 1907. In this club owned by Indonesian businessman Emil played eight times out of 19 matches played by Como.
Of those eight matches, the 28-year-old goalkeeper played the full 90 minutes in each game, against Bologna 2-2, Atalanta (3-2), Hellas Verona (3-2), Napoli (1-4), Parma (1-1), Torino (0-1), Lazio (1-5) and Fiorentina (0-2).
After the last match against Fiorentina on 24 November 2024, Emil Audero was no longer Como's first choice until he was loaned to Italian Serie B club Palermo. At his new club, the 192-cm goalkeeper has made four appearances and all of them played at full capacity from the first minute to the end of the match.
From four matches, Emil conceded four goals apiece as opponents Spezia (2-2) and Mantova 1911 also drew 2-2. The last two songs Emil Audero managed to clean sheets were on 23 February 2025 against Cosenza Calcio winning 3-0 and on 2 March 2025 a 1-0 win over Brescia.
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