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REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian Futsal national team is back in gold ink on the Asian stage. Garuda's squad ensured a move to the 2026 Futsal Asia Cup finals after defeating Japan 5-3 in the semi-final match held at Indonesia Arena, Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday (5/2/2026).
This historic victory led Indonesia to challenge Asian futsal giants and defending champions Iran in a summit party scheduled for Saturday (7/2/2026). Iran advanced to the final after eliminating Iraq with a score of 4-2 in the first semi-final that took place early.
Indonesia opened the lead in the 08:30 minute through Samuel Eko. The goal started from a corner football situation when the Japanese goalkeeper failed to secure the ball perfectly. The vomit ball was directly struck by Samuel Eko with a shot while inverting the body. The 1-0 score held until the break.
Entering the second half, Indonesia performed pressing. In the 17.53 minute, Anca doubled the lead through a kick-in scheme from the left side. The ball headed to the far post briefly hit Motoishi before turning and outwitting the Japanese goalkeeper. Indonesia is 2-0 up.
Japan reduced the lead in the 939th minute. Motoishi made amends for his earlier mistake by unleashing a long-range shot. Although it was briefly dispelled by goalkeeper Habibie, the ball kept rolling into the net. The score changed to 2-1.
Japan's pressure bore fruit with the equaliser in the 05,43rd minute. The Japanese captain, Shimizu, made it past the escort before opening fire that Habibie failed to anticipate. The score drew 2-2.
Indonesia regained the lead in the 01.38 minute through Firman Adriansyah. A one-two collaboration with Samuel Eko ended Firman with a fierce shot that the Japanese goalkeeper was unable to block. Indonesia won 3-2.
Japan then implemented a power play strategy on the remainder of normal time. As a result, in the 00.38 minute, the referee pointed to a white dot after a handball occurred in the Indonesian defense area. Shimizu successfully executed the penalty and forced the score back to a 3—3 draw. The match also went to an extra round.
In the first extra half, Indonesia immediately came out aggressive. In the 00.44th minute, Reza Gunawan took advantage of a Japanese player's pass error and scored to bring Indonesia a 4-3 lead.
Entering the second extra round, Japan again relied on the power play scheme. However, this strategy was used by Indonesia. In the 03.00 minute, Dewa Rizki managed to seize the ball and unleashed a measured shot into the empty net, widening the lead to 5-3.
Japan had a second penalty in the 1:04th minute after Habibie had committed a foul. The Indonesian coach then replaced Habibie with Nizar. However, the returning Shimizu the executioner failed to capitalise on the chance after his kick bounced over the crossbar.
Until the final whistle sounded, the score was 5-3 for Indonesia's victory unchanged. This result ensured the Garuda squad advanced to the 2026 Futsal Asia Cup finals and continued the glorious history of Indonesian futsal at the
Asian level. The atmosphere of Indonesia Arena after the Indonesian Futsal team defeated Japan 5-3 in the semi-finals of the 2026 Futsal Asia Cup, Thursday (5/2/2026) night.
