Jakarta, MINA – The Indonesian Futsal National Team made history again and exacted revenge against Japan, after defeating the Blue Samurai 5-3 in the semifinals of the 2026 Asian Futsal Cup.
The victory at the Indonesia Arena, Jakarta, on Thursday evening WIB (Western Indonesian Time) propelled Garuda Indonesia to the final of the Asian Futsal Cup for the first time, after previously making history by advancing to the semifinals.
Samuel Eko scored the first goal for Indonesia, giving Garuda the lead in the 12th minute. Indonesia then extended the lead to 2-0 in the 23rd minute through Ardiansyah Nur’s shot, which deflected off Takehiro Motoishi’s leg and into the net.
As coach Hector Souto’s squad grew in confidence, Japan narrowed the deficit to 2-1 in the 31st minute. Motoishi’s shot was unstoppable by goalkeeper Habiebie.
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Japan equalized the score at 2-2 in the 35th minute. Kazuya Shimizu fired a shot from the sideline into the Indonesian net.
However, Indonesia refused to lose heart. The Garuda national team regained the lead 3-2 in the 38th minute. Firman Adriansyah broke through the Japanese goal after a quick counterattack.
Japan was awarded a penalty in the final seconds for a handball by Mochammad Iqbal Iskandar. Kazuya Shimizu stepped up to take the penalty, leveling the score at 3-3.
The match then went into extra time.
It was in this extra time that Indonesia scored two more goals through Reza Gunawan and Dewa Rizki.
Indonesia managed to maintain the 5-3 score until the end of the match. History was made, with the Garuda reaching the final of the Asian Futsal Cup for the first time.
This victory also served as an epic revenge against Japan, who had thrashed the Indonesian futsal team in a friendly match before the tournament.
As a result, the Garuda Team lost 4-1 to Japan. []
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