Japan, a "Pandora's Box" for the Indonesian National Futsal Team

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Indonesian national futsal team will challenge the "Pandora's box," Japan, in the semifinals of the 2026 Futsal Asian Cup, Thursday (5/2/2026) at 19:00 WIB at the Indonesia Arena, Jakarta. Always a formidable opponent, Japan represents a true test for the "Garuda" squad to prove that they have elevated their status and established themselves as a new force in futsal in Asia.

It cannot be denied that Japan is one of the two teams that have ever won the Futsal Asian Cup trophy. The team nicknamed "Samurai Five" has collected four championship titles. Only Iran—with 14 titles—has a better record than them.

This quality gap is quite justified. Japan was already familiar with futsal before Indonesia. Futsal began to develop in Japan in the late 1980s, brought by Brazilian immigrants.

Japan has had a national futsal team and participated in the first edition of the Futsal World Cup in 1989. Japan, along with Iran, Uzbekistan, and Thailand, has never missed any of the 18 editions of the Futsal Asian Cup from the Malaysia edition in 1999 to the Indonesia edition in 2026.

In three encounters at the Futsal Asian Cup, Indonesia has also been powerless against the Samurai Five. The first duel between the two teams took place during Indonesia's debut at the Futsal Asian Cup in 2002. Playing at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, at that time, Indonesia lost 1-5.

Three years later, in Vietnam 2005, Garuda became increasingly powerless against Japan. Indonesia fell seven goals without reply to Japan.

Although historically in the Futsal Asian Cup and in terms of head-to-head records, the Indonesian squad may seem inferior, they should not feel inferior. In the past four years, Indonesia has shown improvement that is beginning to allow them to compete with Japan.

In the final meeting at the 2022 Futsal Asian Cup, Indonesia put up a fierce fight against Japan. Meeting in the quarter-finals, Indonesia narrowly lost 2-3.

Then, Indonesia finally managed to secure its first victory over Japan in the 4Nations World Series tournament, January 2025, at the Jakarta International Velodrome. Garuda defeated Japan 1-0 thanks to a goal from Samuel Eko.

I see that Indonesian players have developed a lot compared to what I knew a few years ago.

Although in the friendly match leading up to the 2026 Futsal Asian Cup Indonesia lost again 1-4 to Japan, the results from the previous two tournaments serve as important capital for Garuda to perform with confidence. Moreover, Indonesia will be supported by thousands of supporters in the stands of the Indonesia Arena.

Hector Souto, the coach of the Indonesian national futsal team, acknowledged that Japan is more experienced than his team. Nevertheless, he is optimistic that the Garuda squad can deliver a maximum performance to surprise Japan.

"Clearly, we will face a difficult match against a team that already has an Asian Cup title. They are a very strong team," said Souto at the press conference ahead of the match at Indonesia Arena, Wednesday (4/2/2026).

"We must present our best version to have a chance to defeat them. We come to the semifinals with a good record from previous encounters. Therefore, we are optimistic about the match tomorrow (Thursday)," continued Souto, who is from Spain.

The captain of the Indonesian futsal national team, Mochammad Iqbal, agrees with the coach who considers Japan a significant test for Indonesia to demonstrate its progress over the past two years. Iqbal stated that Japan's favored status will not dampen Indonesia's fighting spirit.

"I and all the players are very excited to deliver our best performance against Japan. This is our first time playing in the semifinals at the Asian level. Therefore, we will play wholeheartedly and perform with full energy, supported by futsal enthusiasts at the Indonesia Arena," said Iqbal.

On a separate occasion, Syauqi Saud, an Indonesian player, does not wish to merely reunite with Takahashi. This meeting provides significant motivation for the Indonesian squad.

"We are not affected by the results of yesterday's friendly match. We will work hard to follow the coach's instructions in order to continue our journey and qualify for the final," said Syauqi.

Japan reached the semifinals by demonstrating their new era. After experiencing the failure of qualifying for the knockout stage of the Futsal Asian Cup for the first time in the 2024 edition in Thailand, the Samurai Five performed flawlessly in Indonesia.

They have always won in four matches leading to the semifinals. In fact, they crushed Afghanistan 6-0 in the quarterfinal stage. That match became the largest score margin in the quarterfinals.

Amidst this positive performance, Kensuke Takahashi, the coach of the Japanese national futsal team, stated that the match against Indonesia will not be easy. Takahashi is well acquainted with the majority of the Garuda squad, having coached them during his tenure with the Indonesian national futsal team from 2018 to 2021.

"I see that Indonesian players have developed significantly from what I knew a few years ago. Their recent achievements in winning titles (the AFF Cup 2024 and the SEA Games 2025) are a valuable addition for Indonesia. However, our goal is to reach the finals," said Takahashi.

Compared to the 4Nations World Series match a year ago, Takahashi only retained four players for the 2026 Asian Cup. They are goalkeeper Fabio Fiuza and three outfield players, namely Harada Kokoro, Shunta Uchimura, and Ryuji Izu.

Japanese player, Kazuya Shimizu, added that his team's preparation involves not only game tactics but also strengthening their mental condition due to the pressure of Indonesian supporters.

"The situation with the large number of supporters for Indonesia has been anticipated. We are very prepared to fight to win the match," said Shimizu, who plays for the Japanese club, Nagoya Oceans.

In another semifinal match, Iran will face Iraq on Thursday at 15:00 WIB. Iran is determined to reach the final for six consecutive editions.