Two Indonesian National Team Defenders Play in Europa League! Calvin Verdonk & Dean James in Spotlight Despite Team's Loss

Two Indonesian national team wing-backs, Calvin Verdonk and Dean James, both started in the 2025/2026 Europa League group stage match on Friday, November 7, 2025, early morning. Both showed solid performances despite their respective clubs suffering defeats.

Calvin Verdonk played for 86 minutes when his club, Lille, was defeated by Crvena Zvezda with a score of 0–1 at the Rajko Mitic Stadium, Belgrade. 

Verdonk played from the first minute in the left-back position and was replaced by Romain Perraud in the 86th minute.

The 28-year-old player performed quite well, recording 89 percent successful passes, one shot, and one important clearance. 

However, Lille failed to bring home any points after Marko Arnautovic scored a goal via a penalty kick in the 85th minute. 

This defeat caused Lille to drop to 15th place in the provisional Europa League standings with six points from four matches, while Crvena Zvezda rose to 23rd place.

Dean James Played Full Match

Meanwhile, Dean James played the full 90 minutes when Go Ahead Eagles were defeated by RB Salzburg 0–2 at the Red Bull Arena, Salzburg. 

In this match, Dean James played from the first minute as a left-back and compiled 78 percent accurate passes. The 25-year-old defender also recorded three accurate crosses, two interceptions, and two clearances throughout the match. 

However, his efforts were unable to prevent his team's defeat after RB Salzburg scored two goals through Yorbe Vertessen and Aleksa Terzic in the second half. 

This result caused Go Ahead Eagles to drop to 17th place in the provisional standings, while Salzburg rose to 29th place.

These two diaspora players remain positive highlights for showing consistency at the European level.