One Victory for All Time

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Eternal. A word that is fitting to be attributed to the Indonesian national futsal team if they can defeat Iran in the final match of the 2026 Futsal Asian Cup, Saturday (7/2/2026) at 19:00 WIB. The "Garuda" may very well lift the championship trophy.

Indonesia played the final match of the 2026 Futsal Asian Cup against Iran, the best team in Asia. In their 17 previous participations in the Asian tournament, "Team Melli," as Iran is called, has reached the final 16 times. They have won 13 of those final matches.

An even more superior record is presented by Iran with a collection of only four losses out of 110 matches in the Futsal Asian Cup. Dominant.

Those four defeats are easily identified. Three negative results were produced against Japan. Two of them occurred in the finals facing Japan in the 2014 and 2022 editions. Previously, Japan defeated Iran in the semifinals of the 2006 edition. Meanwhile, the other defeat occurred in the semifinals of the 2012 edition when they were defeated by Thailand.

Meanwhile, Indonesia is making its debut in the final match. Mochammad Iqbal and his teammates are the seventh contestants to compete in the championship trophy game of the 2026 Futsal Asian Cup.

As a "newcomer" in the final duel, the coach of the Indonesian national team stated that this actually becomes an advantage for Indonesia. His team, according to Souto, does not feel any pressure when facing Iran, "the last king" of Asian futsal.

In the face of Iran, Indonesia's goal is to play with joy and pride. They want to bring smiles to every face of Indonesian supporters watching the final match later.

"We do not feel the pressure. In fact, the pressure (to win) is on Iran's side. They are more experienced and have won the Asian Cup 13 times," said Souto at a press conference ahead of the match, Friday (6/2/2026), at the Indonesia Arena.

In the record of encounters between the two teams, Indonesia has always succumbed to Iran in seven duels. One of those defeats is still recorded as the seventh largest victory score for Team Melli in the Futsal Asian Cup stage.

Iran defeated Indonesia 20-1 in the 2006 Futsal Asian Cup. The last encounter between Indonesia and Iran took place in the opening match of the qualifying round of the 2022 edition. Indonesia lost 0-5.

Wendy Brian Ick, an Indonesian futsal player, agrees with Souto. The Garuda squad is proud to have reached the final. They aim to conclude their impressive performance at the Indonesia Arena perfectly.

"We do not feel pressured because this is our first final. Our strong motivation comes from playing at home. My friends and I do not want to lose in our own house," said Brian.

On that occasion, the head coach of the Iranian national futsal team, Vahid Shamsaee, did not underestimate Indonesia. Shamsaee witnessed the actions of the Indonesian team in the semifinal from the stands of the Indonesia Arena alongside a translator.

He stayed in Indonesia Arena when his team returned to the hotel on Thursday evening. This was done by Shamsaee, the owner of eight Asian Futsal Cup trophies as a player and one title as a coach of Iran, to study the strengths of the Garuda squad while also understanding the great enthusiasm of Indonesian supporters.

"There is no team under greater pressure than us in this tournament. I am grateful to all the players who were able to handle that pressure and advance to the final," said Shamsaee.

Furthermore, Shamsaee stated that the AFC Futsal Cup trophy is the best way for his team to provide solace to the people of Iran. In recent years, Iran has been shaken by internal conflicts as well as geopolitical pressures from the United States.

"The reason we are here is professionalism. I want to convey deep sorrow to the suffering people of Iran, because futsal is not more significant than the situation occurring in our country," said Shamsaee, who briefly wiped away tears.

"I and the players want to dedicate this trophy to the people of Iran," said Shamsaee, the top scorer in international futsal matches with a total of 392 goals.

Referring to the results in the two knockout phase matches, Indonesia and Iran exhibit different dimensions of play. Indonesia performed more effectively in the first half, while Iran tends to warm up slowly despite having a resilient mentality.

Team Melli was initially two goals behind Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals before winning 7-4. In the semifinal match, Iran fell behind twice to Iraq in the first half. Nevertheless, they managed to silence Iraq with a score of 4-2.

On the contrary, Indonesia played steadily at least during the first half. Vietnam and Japan failed to score against Indonesia in the first half of the match.

The Garuda squad is more prone to conceding goals when the match has been underway for 25 minutes. This is evident from the timing of the goals conceded against Vietnam and Japan. In fact, referring to the results of the group stage, eight out of nine goals that found the back of Indonesia's net were scored after halftime.

Souto stated that his team's oversight has become a point of evaluation ahead of the final duel. According to him, Iran is the strongest team that demands his players to perform flawlessly in order to win.

"We have a uniform tactical language. The players already understand my wishes, although sometimes I need to remind them. Our main strength is our unity," said Souto, who holds a Spanish passport.

Mohammadhossein Derakhshani, an Iranian player, believes that his team is already accustomed to performing with a final match mentality. He is not affected by the prospect of playing under the pressure of more than 10,000 home supporters.

"Iran always participates in the Asian Cup with the aim of becoming champions. We have already played in five previous finals, so facing Indonesia is another final that we must win to achieve the trophy," said Derakhshani. He is one of the eight players retained by Shamsaee when they won the 2024 edition.