Young Players Shine as Indonesian Women's National Team Defeats Nepal

SLEMAN, WEDNESDAY — Young players are shining as they play for the senior women's national football team of Indonesia in preparation for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand. However, the overall performance of the national team is still far from optimal as the players are still seeking harmony.

The Indonesian women's national football team defeated Nepal 2-1 in an international friendly match on the FIFA calendar at Maguwoharjo Stadium, Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta, on Wednesday (26/11/2025). Although the official squad for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand has not yet been announced, this match serves as part of the preparation for the Southeast Asian multi-sport event.

The national women's team coach, Akira Higashiyama, fielded six young players, namely goalkeeper Alleana Ayu Arumy, winger Ayunda Dwi Anggraini, defender Gea Yumanda, forward Aulia Al Mabruroh, midfielder Ajeng Sri Handayani, and Aulia Arifah. Gea (in the 58th minute) and Aulia Al Mabruroh (in the 67th minute) contributed goals to secure Indonesia's victory.

The Indonesian players appeared to still be struggling to adapt to one another, especially in the first half. "Garuda Pertiwi" fell behind early due to an own goal by defender Vivi Oktavia Riski in the 20th minute.

Intending to clear the ball resulting from a header by a Nepalese player in front of the penalty box, Vivi instead directed the ball into the goal, which Alleana could not anticipate. This goal marked the peak of a relentless attack from Nepal, which unleashed five shots, two of which were on target during the first half.

The players often made passing errors. Miscommunication among the players also occurred. The team, which is a combination of young players who are mainstays in the youth team and senior players who have repeatedly strengthened the senior national team, is still seeking harmony. Gea, Alleana, and Ayunda, who were deployed from the kickoff, played alongside senior players Vivi, Sheva Imut, Viny Silfianus, Reva Octaviani, Zahra Muzdalifah, Helsya Maesyaroh, and Emily Nahon.

Initially, the women's national team coach called up 27 players for the national training camp in preparation for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand. Ahead of the match against Nepal, a total of 36 players were summoned to join the national team. There are additional young players who previously shone with the age group teams, such as Alleana and Diva Aulia, who became mainstays for the national team in the 2025 ASEAN U-16 Championship and the 2026 Women's U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Gea, who just turned 19 in June, became the driving force of the team when they secured third place in the 2025 ASEAN U-19 Championship. Meanwhile, Aulia Mabruroh (20 years old) was part of the Indonesian team competing in the same event in the 2023 edition.

The victory over Nepal is a positive achievement for the women's national team. Moreover, Nepal is not an easy opponent to defeat. Even until the second half, they still dominated possession with 59 percent and had more opportunities with 12 shots, half of which were on target, compared to Indonesia's 7 shots, 4 of which were on goal.

Nepal also comes into the tournament with a strong record. In their last five matches this year, they have recorded two wins and two draws. Their ranking has also soared from 100th in the world to 89th, their highest in history.

Meanwhile, Indonesia, ranked 106th in the world, lost four out of a total of five matches. The remaining match ended in a draw, against Cambodia with a score of 1-1.

As a result, the victory over Nepal is a valuable asset for Indonesia, which will be looking forward to the SEA Games for the first time after missing the last two editions. In the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games and the 2021 Vietnam SEA Games, Garuda Pertiwi withdrew from the tournament.

The women's national team last appeared at the 2019 Philippines SEA Games. At that time, Indonesia's journey was halted in the group stage. Indonesia, which was in Group B alongside Thailand and Vietnam, could only finish in third place.

In the upcoming SEA Games, Indonesia will be placed in Group A alongside the host country Thailand, Cambodia, and Singapore. Being in the same group as Thailand will pose a significant challenge for Garuda Pertiwi. In addition to being the host nation that will receive support from its own public, Thailand is also a team that has reached a world-class level.

Thailand has participated in the Women's World Cup twice, namely in the 2015 and 2019 editions. Thailand may be in a wounded state after failing to qualify for the 2026 Asian Cup for the first time since 1997. As a result, they are also confirmed not to be able to compete in the 2027 Women's World Cup.

Moreover, in the SEA Games, Thailand is the second most successful team after Vietnam. The "White Elephant" team successfully secured five gold medals from this biennial multi-sport event.

Thailand has also routinely sent teams to the SEA Games since women's football was first contested in the 1985 edition in Bangkok, unlike Indonesia.

However, Indonesia has been preparing since September. The players also conducted a training camp at Urawa Reds Lands, Tokyo, Japan, for two weeks. According to the coaching staff, this agenda is designed to build a solid team framework and test the players' abilities against high-level opponents.

"We from the coaching team are optimistic about achieving good results. We want to bring home the gold at this year's SEA Games. We aim to create history so that women's football in Indonesia can continue to develop," said the assistant manager of the women's national team, Iwan Setiawan.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Youth and Sports as well as the General Chair of PSSI, Erick Thohir, stated that the target for the women's national team in Thailand is bronze. Erick mentioned that this target was set based on the evaluation results from the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

"From the results of the Ministry of Youth and Sports team's evaluation, yesterday, if I'm not mistaken, PSSI proposed that the women's soccer team (target) bronze," said Erick.

Based on the tentative schedule announced on the official SEA Games 2025 website, the women's football matches will commence with the group phase from December 4 to 11 in Chonburi. Following that, the semifinals will be held on December 14 and the final on December 17.