Indonesian Futsal with a distant dream.

After finishing second at the 2026 Asian Futsal Championship (losing dramatically to Iran on penalties in the final), the Indonesian futsal team wants to leverage this "momentum" to rise to world-class level in the future.

The Indonesian futsal team dreams of reaching world-class status in the next few years - Photo: BOLA

Indonesian newspaper Bola asserts that one of the most important factors in helping Indonesian futsal reach a higher level is to build upon existing strengths while simultaneously improving the quality of its players, especially young ones. The first step demonstrating Indonesia's seriousness about this ambition is retaining coach Hector Souto until 2028.

Retaining Coach Souto

Mr. Souto became the head coach of the Indonesian futsal team in August 2024 after proving his abilities in the Indonesian national futsal championship. Shortly after taking over, Mr. Souto made a strong impression by leading the team to victory in the 2024 Southeast Asian Futsal Championship. Following that, Coach Souto and the Indonesian futsal team defeated Thailand to win the gold medal at the 33rd SEA Games. This victory broke Thailand's dominance of five consecutive SEA Games.

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Shortly afterwards, Indonesian futsal made history by reaching the final of the 2026 Asian Futsal Championship. Although they lost to Iran in the final, Indonesia showed incredibly rapid and strong progress. One of Coach Souto's greatest successes was "unlocking the potential of Indonesian players." This is something that previous Indonesian futsal coaches could not achieve. Therefore, Indonesian futsal is eager for Coach Souto to continue his excellent work.

Indonesia's problem isn't finding renowned coaches, but rather a suitable strategist who understands the players, like Mr. Souto. "Indonesia has matured significantly in terms of organizing its gameplay, controlling emotions in crucial matches, and making decisions under high pressure. Currently, Indonesian futsal plays with its own unique identity and no longer gives opponents a comfortable feeling," Mr. Souto said in an interview with Tuổi Trẻ.

A bold upgrade plan

Immediately after leading the Indonesian national futsal team to a runner-up finish at the Asian Futsal Championship, Coach Souto and the Indonesian Futsal Federation (FFI) outlined a plan for the next phase of Indonesian futsal. Most notably, the Indonesian futsal team will have numerous friendly matches with major teams around the world. Because Coach Souto has close relationships with European futsal teams, he will serve as a bridge for Indonesian futsal in its transformation.

According to Bola newspaper, Michael Sianipar, the Indonesian futsal manager, said: "Coach Souto said that if they want to improve, the Indonesian futsal team must get used to world-class matches. Therefore, they must face top teams from around the world. That is the vision and the task of the Indonesian futsal governing body is to create favorable conditions for Coach Souto to realize that vision."

2028 will be a crucial year for Indonesian futsal because it's the year of the World Cup – where the ambitions of coach Souto's team will be strongly tested. In the past, the Indonesian futsal team has never qualified for the World Cup, something that Vietnam and Thailand have consistently achieved.

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With the clear level of achievement they have built up recently, the Indonesian futsal team can certainly aim for a World Cup qualification spot. They can even aspire to go far in this prestigious tournament. Indonesia's vision also provides an opportunity for Thailand and Vietnam to reflect on their own performance and develop appropriate strategies for the next phase.

HOAI DU

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/futsal-indonesia-with-a-far-dream-20260211093432577.htm