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AFC has announced 46 nominees on its official website, allowing fans to vote for the best XI, which will consist of one goalkeeper, three defenders, four midfielders and three attackers. The list includes 5 goalkeepers, 13 defenders, 13 midfielders and 15 attacks.
Both Indonesia and South Korea have five representatives each, the most from any country.
Indonesia's nominees include goalkeeper Maarten Paes, defenders Sandy Walsh and Jay Idzes, midfielder Marselino Ferdinan and forward Ole Romeny. Notably, Ferdinan is the only native Indonesian among the nominees.
During the third qualifying round, Walsh played in 7 out of 10 matches, including substitute appearances in key games against Australia and Bahrain in March 2025. He was absent from the last two matches.
Romeny, born in Indonesia to a Dutch grandmother, is eligible to represent Indonesia, having played four matches since his naturalization.
South Korea's five nominees include defender Kim Min-jae, midfielders Bae Jun-ho, Lee Jae-sung, Lee Kang-in and captain Son Heung-min.
Five other countries Japan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Jordan and Australia have four nominees. A total of 15 teams have at least one nominee, while three countries, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, and Bahrain, have no nominations.
Despite Saudi Arabia's higher rank than Indonesia in Group C, they have only one nominee.
The third round of Asian World Cup qualifiers took place from Sept. 5, 2024 to June 10, 2025, with 18 teams divided into three groups of six. The top six teams, Iran, South Korea, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Japan, and Australia, secured direct World Cup spots.
The remaining six teams, Indonesia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, advanced to the fourth round. These teams will be divided into two groups in the draw on July 17 and will compete in Qatar and Saudi Arabia from Oct. 8 to 14, with two spots remaining for the World Cup and two spots advancing to the fifth round. The bottom two teams in each group will be eliminated.
