Women's Soccer Semifinals, Here We Go Again!

BANGKOK, KOMPAS — The Indonesian women's national football team has not only returned to the SEA Games but has also reached the semifinals once again. The heavy defeat against Thailand must still serve as a point of evaluation for Indonesian women's football as a whole, but now it is time to prepare thoroughly for a new experience at the SEA Games in Thailand 2025.

The women's national football team secured a ticket to the semifinals of the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand after Singapore was defeated 0-2 by Thailand on Wednesday (10/12/2025). With this result, both Indonesia and Singapore suffered losses to the host country. However, "Garuda Pertiwi" holds an advantage over Singapore as they defeated them on Sunday (7/12/2025).

Playing at the Institute of Physical Education Chonburi Campus Stadium in Chonburi, the women's national team triumphed over Singapore with a score of 3-1. This victory was achieved after "Garuda Pertiwi" managed to overturn the deficit through goals from Isa Warps (31'), Claudia Scheunemann (62'), and Aulia Al Mabruroh (90+1').

On paper, Indonesia indeed excels over Singapore. In the previous meeting at the 2024 AFF Cup, the women's national team won 3-0. This result complements five other encounters that Indonesia has also won.

The victory over Singapore propelled Indonesia to second place in Group A with three points. Only the winners and runners-up from the two groups advance to the quarterfinals.

Indonesia's opponent in the semifinals is the group B champion, which consists of Myanmar, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia. The members of group B still need to complete one more match to determine the final standings and qualification for the semifinals.

"This year's SEA Games feels different from previous editions. To be honest, in the past, my personal target was just to get through the group stage. However, this time the target is higher; I want to return home with a medal," said national team defender, Zahra Muzdalifah, to Kita Garuda.

For the women's national team, the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand is indeed special. In this 33rd edition of the Southeast Asian sports festival, the women's national team will compete for the first time after missing the previous two editions. At the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia and the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam, "Garuda Pertiwi" withdrew from the tournament.

Zahra was part of the women's national team when the team last competed in the SEA Games during the 2019 edition in the Philippines. At that time, the women's national team was eliminated in the group stage after facing tough competition from two Southeast Asian football giants, Vietnam and Thailand, in Group B. Indonesia returned home without any points and recorded a goal difference of 10.

With the advancement to the semifinals in Thailand 2025, Indonesia has surpassed its journey in the Philippines 2019. Although joining the host in Group A, Indonesia benefited from Cambodia's withdrawal, which resulted in the group consisting of only three teams. Unlike the men's team, the reduction in participants did not lead to a revision of the group stage draw results.

The semifinals were the highest achievement of the women's national team previously. However, that achievement has been over two decades ago, specifically during the SEA Games edition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2001.

The time gap is quite large, especially for the young players who are now on the national team, such as Claudia Scheunemann (16).

Thus, the SEA Games semifinals will be a new experience for the national women's team players. "Garuda Pertiwi" must focus on preparing themselves to gain valuable experience in this new achievement.

Moreover, the SEA Games serve as a platform to prove that the women's national team deserves to be sent to compete in the regional sports festival. Until now, the women's national team has not been regularly included in the SEA Games, even though this event does not require qualification. This means that anyone can actually participate, depending on the decision of each country.

After serving as the key holder in the 2005 edition in the Philippines, Indonesia was not sent to the SEA Games for four consecutive editions. In the Philippines, there was only one group consisting of five teams. Indonesia was defeated by Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, which had indeed begun to develop their women's football.

Indonesia only appeared again in the Philippines in 2019, although it subsequently missed the event again. Since women's football has been contested in the SEA Games since 1985, "Garuda Pertiwi" has participated only five times.

On the other hand, the national women's team coach, Akira Higashiyama, has set a high target that tends to be unrealistic. "If we pass the group stage, our target is to win the SEA Games," he stated.

That unrealistic target is reflected in how Indonesia is still struggling to face Thailand, which is currently showing a decline in performance and is in a wounded condition after failing to qualify for the 2026 Asian Cup. In the first match of the 2025 SEA Games on December 4, the disparity with Thailand was very evident.

Indonesia suffered a crushing defeat of 0-8. Four months ago, Indonesia also succumbed to Thailand in the 2025 ASEAN Women's Championship with a score of 0-7.

National women's team player, Nafeeza Ayasha Nori, stated that the match against Thailand is truly the main focus in their preparations. Almost every day, they are invited to analyze Thailand's matches. The reason is that they want to at least be able to match the host's gameplay.

However, the "Gajah Betina" team emphasizes the difference in level with Indonesia. They remain one of the giants of women's football in Southeast Asia.

When Indonesia was still "crawling" in Southeast Asia, Thailand was already running towards the World Cup. They have had the experience of participating in the Women's World Cup in 2015 and 2019.

The defeat against Thailand must serve as a comprehensive evaluation, not only for the national team but also for women's football in Indonesia. The significant and recurring losses reveal fundamental problems in the development of women's football in the country, including the lack of competition.

Thailand has transformed into one of the giants of Southeast Asia, largely due to the presence of regular competitions. Since 2008, Thailand has had the Thai Women’s League, which has been held annually since its inception. This semi-professional league format even consists of two tiers, namely Thai Women League 1 and Thai Women League 2.

In Southeast Asia, only Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam currently do not have a women's football league. Cambodia and Laos, which a few years ago were not considered a threat, have consistently launched their leagues. Similarly, Timor Leste is set to launch its league in August 2025.