Kyrgyzstan Reveals Urgency of “Garuda Pertiwi” Foundation

Like defeat, victory in a match also provides valuable lessons. This is what the Indonesian women's national football team experienced when they won their opening match in the 2026 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan. The opponent revealed several weaknesses of "Garuda Pertiwi," particularly reiterating the urgency of improving the foundations of playing football.

There was no excessive euphoria from the Indonesian women's national team players when the referee blew the final whistle to end the Group D match of the 2026 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the Indomilk Arena Stadium, Tangerang Regency, Banten, on Sunday (29/6/2025) evening. Indonesia won with a minimal score of 1-0, thanks to a goal from the player who was recently naturalized in the middle of this month, Isa Warps, in the 65th minute.

It is reasonable for the Indonesian players to celebrate their first three points modestly. They simply prayed and expressed gratitude on the field. Then, some players consoled the disappointed opponents.

Indonesia won and maintained the opportunity to qualify for the final round, but the journey is still long. There are still many aspects that need to be improved and enhanced.

"Garuda Pertiwi" dominated almost throughout the match. The captain of Kyrgyzstan, Aizhan Boronbekova, even acknowledged that her team struggled to face Indonesia. Moreover, Indonesia held the status of the host. However, the narrow score of 1-0 in favor of Indonesia also indicates that Kyrgyzstan was able to provide significant resistance.

Kyrgyzstan has indeed succeeded multiple times in thwarting the host's attacks, resulting in a stalemate during the first half. The Kyrgyz national team, composed of players who in March strengthened the women's futsal national team and also faced the Indonesian futsal national team, demonstrated that there are several aspects that Indonesia needs to improve.

These weaknesses were acknowledged by the head coach of the Indonesian women's national team, Satoru Mochizuki. According to Mochizuki, one of the noticeable weaknesses is in the finishing aspect. His players had many opportunities, but only one resulted in a goal.

"In football, it is indeed important to score many goals. Moreover, in group competition, it is not only necessary to win, but also to score a lot of goals," said Mochizuki.

In the first eight minutes, for instance, Indonesia was able to create four opportunities through four different players, namely Claudia Scheunemann, Viny Silfianus, Rosdilah Siti, and Gea Yumanda. However, all those chances were thwarted by the opposing goalkeeper or ended up wide of the goal.

The main objective of a football match is to score as many goals as possible against the opponent. As Mochizuki stated, in the 2026 Asian Cup Qualifiers, merely winning is not enough. The team must also score many goals.

Moreover, Indonesia will compete against its toughest opponent in Group D, Taiwan, for the title of group champion. Only the group champion is entitled to a ticket to the Asian Cup. Although both Indonesia and Taiwan have earned three points, Taiwan currently leads the temporary standings after winning 8-0 against Pakistan.

Mochizuki appreciated his players who tried to overcome the finishing problem by releasing direct shots on goal from outside the penalty box. However, he will also try to overcome the players' difficulties in penetrating the area near the goal and creating chances from there.

Nevertheless, Mochizuki believes that the issue of final resolution will be addressed if the players have a solid foundation, namely proficient basic football techniques. "Today, Indonesia can hold the ball more, but there are still many control errors, lost balls, and inaccurate passes. So when facing Taiwan, they will be able to take advantage of this. Therefore, we must improve our fundamental skills," said Mochizuki.

"The accuracy will improve if the basic skills of the players also improve. This is because they will be able to get closer to the goal, and kicking the ball will also be more accurate," said the coach from Japan.

Since taking charge of the national team in 2024, Mochizuki has indeed emphasized the importance of strengthening the fundamental techniques of playing football, such as passing, controlling, and dribbling the ball, as well as positioning. Moreover, according to the coach who was once part of the coaching staff of the Japanese women's national team that won the World Cup in 2011, Indonesian players still need to reinforce these foundations.

"Not only in Japan, but also around the world, strong teams like Spain, England, and others also start from fundamental aspects, basic techniques like these. They prioritize a strong foundation, and now they have become teams like them," said Mochizuki in the middle of last year when asked why he always emphasizes basic technical training.

This fundamental technical problem was quite evident during the more than 90 minutes of the match against Kyrgyzstan. Indonesia's attacks were frequently interrupted not only due to the interventions of opposing players but also because of passing errors or imperfect passes from Indonesian players. When receiving a pass to initiate an attack, players often struggled to control the ball effectively.

The issue is not only apparent in the women's national team. Former men's national team coach, Shin Tae-yong, has also complained about the lack of passing and ball control skills among Indonesian players. In terms of speed and stamina, Indonesian footballers are on par with players from other countries. However, when it comes to technical skills and game vision, there are still many aspects that need improvement.

For female football players, this problem is exacerbated by the absence of competition over the past six years. After the Women's League 1, the highest level of women's football competition, went dormant following its last event in 2019, players have practically been unable to hone their skills through regular matches. They have had to rely on tournaments that are also inconsistently held, while others strategize by seeking experience abroad.

Relying on training from Mochizuki in the national team will actually not be sufficient. This has been proven in the year since his arrival, as this fundamental skill remains an aspect that needs improvement.

Ultimately, this issue also highlights the importance of continuous development. When handling the U-17 women's team at the 2024 Asian Cup, Mochizuki once stated that he brought an understanding from Japan that the game of football should focus on fundamental skills, such as passing, ball control, and shooting.

"This fundamental technique should indeed be taught from an early age so that by the time they are teenagers, they can better understand and improve their skills. However, it is not a problem; we will start with this U-17 team," said Mochizuki.

Although there are still aspects that need improvement, the women's national team also demonstrates positive signs in team solidarity. This was also affirmed by Claudia Scheunemann, who assessed that teamwork has already been established. However, when attacking, they still tend to be too hasty.

"Most importantly, we need to play more calmly, with one-two passes, and not rush to move forward. Clau is confident that in the next match, we will give 100 percent again and hopefully secure another three points," said the 16-year-old player.

Like a building, the women's national football team must have a strong foundation to stand firm. There are still two matches remaining in the 2026 Asian Cup Qualifiers, against Pakistan on Wednesday (2/7/2025) and Taiwan on Saturday (5/7/2025).

There is still an opportunity to achieve the dream of reaching the Asian and global levels in the future. From the improvement of fundamental aspects, which should also be accompanied by structured and continuous coaching, this dream can continue to be pursued.