Sandy Walsh

Sandy Henny Walsh (born 14 March 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Belgian Pro League club Mechelen. Born in Belgium and a former Netherlands youth international, he plays for the Indonesia national team.

Club career

Walsh spent time in the youth sides of Tempo Overijse and ERC Hoeilaart before joining Anderlecht in 2003 where he stayed until 2011 when he joined Genk.

On 2 September 2012, he made his professional debut for Genk, coming on as a substitute for the final moments of a 2–2 draw with his former side Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League.

Wals moved to Zulte Waregem in the summer of 2017, making his league debut on 5 August 2017 as a substitute in a 2–0 win over Sint-Truiden.

In October 2020, he moved to another Belgian club Mechelen. He making his league debut on 1 November 2020 as a starter in a 2–2 draw over Club Brugge. He scored the only goal in the quarter-final of the Belgian Cup in injury time against Kortijk, sending Mechelen to the semi-finals.

International career

Walsh has represented the Netherlands at youth international and won the UEFA European Under-17 Championship with the under-17 side in 2012. He has represented the Netherlands at every level from under-15 to under-20.

In November 2022, Walsh received a call-up from Indonesia national team coach Shin Tae-Yong for a training camp in preparation for the 2022 AFF Championship. He was however called back by his club.

On 27 May 2023, Walsh received call-up to the Indonesia national team for friendly matches against Palestine and Argentina. However, Walsh unable to play in both matches, as he got a calf injury during training.

On 29 August 2023, Walsh received another call-up to the national team for the friendly match against Turkmenistan. He went on to make his debut against said team in a 2–0 win.

On 24 January 2024, Walsh scored his debut goal in injury-time for the national team in a 1–3 loss against Japan in the final match of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup group stage.

Personal life

Walsh was born in Belgium to an Irish father who was born in England, and an Indonesian mother who was born in Switzerland and raised in Netherlands. He was therefore eligible for either Belgium, England, Ireland, Switzerland, Netherlands, or Indonesia.

On 17 November 2022, Walsh officially acquired Indonesian citizenship.

On 15 August 2024, Walsh married Canada national basketball team player Aislinn Konig in Spain.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 5 October 2024

Club	Season	League			Belgian Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Genk	2011–12	Belgian Pro League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2012–13		1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2013–14		4	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	6	0
	2014–15		11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	2015–16		23	1	5	0	0	0	0	0	28	1
	2016–17		12	0	2	0	9	0	5	1	28	1
	Total		51	1	9	0	10	0	5	1	75	2
Zulte Waregem	2017–18	Belgian Pro League	18	1	2	0	4	0	10	0	34	1
	2018–19		21	1	2	0	0	0	10	1	33	2
	2019–20		9	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
	Total		48	2	8	0	4	0	20	1	80	3
Mechelen	2020–21	Belgian Pro League	30	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	31	3
	2021–22		33	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	34	3
	2022–23		25	2	5	1	0	0	0	0	30	3
	2023–24		31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	31	0
	2024–25		4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		123	8	7	1	0	0	0	0	130	9
Career total			223	11	23	1	14	0	25	2	287	14

International

As of match played 10 October 2024

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Indonesia	2023	4	0
	2024	12	2
Total		16	2

As of match played 10 September 2024

Scores and results list Indonesia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Walsh goal.

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	24 January 2024	Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar	8	Japan	1–3	1–3	2023 AFC Asian Cup
2	5 September 2024	King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	14	Saudi Arabia	1–0	1–1	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Genk

• Belgian Cup: 2012–13
• Belgian Super Cup: 2011–12; runner-up 2013

Zulte Waregem

• Belgian Super Cup runner-up: 2017

Mechelen

• Belgian Cup runner-up: 2022–23

Netherlands U-17

• UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2012