10-Man Indonesia National Team Held Malaysia to a 0-0 Draw, Maarten Paes Became the Saviour

Jakarta - Indonesia National Team, who played with 10 players from the middle of the first half, held Malaysia to a 0-0 draw in the second Group A Division 1 fixture of the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK), Jakarta, on Monday evening WIB, 28/09/2026.

Indonesia were reduced to 10 men after midfielder Thom Haye was shown a red card following a VAR review in the 36th minute. Despite playing a player down for over half of the match, Indonesia kept their goal intact thanks to disciplined defensive organisation and Maarten Paes' outstanding performance.

This draw leaves Malaysia top of Group A on 4 points. Indonesia also hold 4 points, but sit in second position due to an inferior goal difference.

The match kicked off at a ferocious high tempo. Indonesia thought they had opened the scoring in the 4th minute through Justin Hubner after a goalmouth scramble, but referee Ko Hyung-jin disallowed the goal for a foul committed during the build-up.

Malaysia then began to assert pressure. Arif Aiman repeatedly posed threats from the forward line, but Maarten Paes successfully denied every on-target effort on his goal.

Disaster struck for Indonesia in the 36th minute. Thom Haye fouled Arif Aiman and was initially shown a yellow card for the challenge.

The referee referred the incident to VAR for review. After watching replay footage, the official overturned the original call and upgraded Haye's yellow card to a straight red card.

Indonesia were forced to operate with 10 players from the 37th minute onwards. Malaysia immediately looked to capitalise on their numerical advantage by increasing their attacking pressure, while Indonesia shifted to a structure focused on solid defence and counter-attacking opportunities.

Even with the man disadvantage, Indonesia still created clear chances before half time. Dean James broke through down the left flank to generate a shooting opportunity, but his strike was parried away by Malaysia goalkeeper Syihan Hazmi.

Following the second half restart, Malaysia took full control of possession and continuously probed for gaps in Indonesia's defensive line.

Indonesia adopted a compact, deep defensive shape to maintain parity in the match.

Malaysia managed to penetrate Indonesia's defensive final third on multiple occasions, but their finishing never managed to beat Paes.

Second half substitute Paulo Josue also posed a real threat. His headed effort in the 63rd minute drifted just narrowly over the crossbar of Indonesia's goal.

Malaysia continued to ramp up pressure right through to the dying minutes of the fixture. However, Indonesia's defensive unit maintained full concentration, shutting down shooting space for the Harimau Malaya players.

Maarten Paes once again proved to be Indonesia's most influential player on the night. The goalkeeper made a string of critical saves to keep his clean sheet intact until the final whistle.

No goals were registered by the full time whistle. Both Indonesia and Malaysia had to settle for sharing one point apiece from this fiercely contested, high-tension match.

With this additional point, Indonesia now hold 4 points from two matches played. For the final round of Group A fixtures, Indonesia will face Bangladesh on Thursday (01/10), while Malaysia will meet Singapore.

Starting Lineups

Indonesia: Maarten Paes; Kevin Diks, Elkan Baggott, Justin Hubner, Calvin Verdonk, Dean James, Joey Pelupessy, Thom Haye, Ragnar Oratmangoen, Ole Romeny, Luke Vickery.

Malaysia: Syihan Hazmi; Brad Tapp, Quentin Cheng, Dion Cools, LaVere Corbin Ong, Manuel Hidalgo, Stuart Wilkin, Nooa Laine, Faisal Halim, Bergson, Arif Aiman.