Women's National Football Team Takes Advantage of Host Status

TANGERANG REGENCY, KOMPAS — The Indonesian women's national football team is leveraging their status as hosts for additional motivation in the 2026 Asian Cup Qualifiers. The condition of the players is also nearing 100 percent as they prepare to face Kyrgyzstan in their opening match.

Indonesia will begin its journey in Group D of the 2026 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan at the Indomilk Arena Stadium, Tangerang Regency, Banten, on Sunday (29/6/2025) at 20:00 WIB. The women's national team must secure a victory to maintain their chances of qualifying for the final round.

There are only eight tickets available for the Asian Cup. These eight tickets are contested by 34 teams in eight qualifying groups. This means that only the best team in each group can advance to this four-yearly tournament at the Asian level.

In the 2026 Asian Cup Qualifiers, Indonesia benefits from being the host nation. All matches in Group D will be held in front of the home crowd at the Indomilk Arena Stadium.

"Therefore, since this time we are hosting the tournament, it is a fun challenge for us. We certainly have the target to qualify as group champions; we want to be enthusiastic and strive for that," said the national women's team coach, Satoru Mochizuki, at a press conference ahead of the match, Saturday (28/6/2026).

In a previous opportunity during an interview session amidst training, Mochizuki also hoped that Indonesia's supporters could come to provide motivation to the players. Moreover, Indonesia will be fighting in a group that he considers not easy.

In addition to Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia will compete with Pakistan and Taiwan. Based on the world ranking as of June 12, 2025, Taiwan is currently the highest-ranked team (42). Indonesia is in the 95th position.

On paper, Indonesia is superior to Kyrgyzstan (ranked 136th). This presents a valuable opportunity for Indonesia to secure its first points in the qualifying round.

Mochizuki stated that his protégés are in good condition ahead of the match against Kyrgyzstan. Although they have not yet reached 100 percent, the Japanese coach believes that the players will be able to achieve that condition.

"Indeed, usually any team heading into a match finds it difficult to reach a condition of 100 percent. However, I believe that players, with their understanding of football and their intelligence, can prepare themselves to approach a condition of 100 percent. Some did sustain injuries during the training camp, but all have returned to their condition," said Mochizuki.

Women's national team defender Shafira Ika Putri Kartini said the players have built chemistry, including with four naturalized players. Ika also emphasized that they must take advantage of their status as hosts to be able to perform well.

"I have communicated multiple times with my friends that this is a tournament that presents an opportunity for us. Moreover, we are playing at home and we must show our best for Indonesia," said Ika.

"And I also said many times 'This is our home, we have to win here'," he said again.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan's coach, Zakirov Nematzhan, acknowledged that Indonesia and Taiwan are strong teams. Nevertheless, Kyrgyzstan also arrived with high motivation to win.

Kyrgyzstan is also undeterred by Indonesia, which is now inhabited by naturalized players. "We are here to showcase our best performance. We want to give 100 percent of our ability and effort. And for us, the world ranking is not important," said Nematzhan.

Kyrgyzstan player, Alzhab Boronbekova, stated that they have also watched and analyzed Indonesia's gameplay. Thus, they are aware of Indonesia's strengths and weaknesses as well as how to anticipate them.