Indonesia (right) finished ahead of Iraq in the group stage of the 2026 Asian Futsal Championship - Photo: AFC
This result continues the brilliant run of achievements for the Indonesian national team over the past two years: winning the 2024 Southeast Asian Championship and securing a gold medal at the 33rd SEA Games after crushing Thailand 6-1. What has helped the Indonesian team undergo such a spectacular transformation to become the new "powerhouse" of the region?
Avoid pursuing mass naturalization.
While Indonesia's men's 11-a-side football team is still grappling with its controversial policy of naturalizing a large number of European-born players, the country's futsal team has chosen a different and more sustainable path: building strength from within.
Indonesia's current dominance in futsal doesn't come from hastily granted passports to "foreign players." Instead, the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) has persevered with a long-term, systematic approach.
Indonesian futsal team captain, Mochammad Iqbal Rahmatullah Iskandar, asserted that the resounding 6-1 victory over Thailand in the SEA Games 33 final, or the win against Vietnam, was not due to the opponent's weakness, but rather proof that Indonesian futsal has grown stronger on its own.
The foundation of this development lies in the increasingly professional and highly competitive national championship (Liga Futsal Profesional). Furthermore, instead of rushing the process, Indonesia has embraced setbacks and grown through a series of friendly matches with futsal powerhouses such as Argentina, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the Netherlands.
These international experiences have honed the character of domestic players, helping them to overcome any fear or nervousness when stepping onto the larger continental stage, as seen at the ongoing Asian Championship 2026.
The mark of a familiar face, Hector Souto.
A team with great potential but lacking organization needs a capable "architect," and Indonesia has found that missing piece in Hector Souto – a familiar face to Vietnamese fans. He previously coached the Vietnam U20 team and served as an assistant coach during their World Cup 2016 campaign. Therefore, Souto has a thorough understanding of Southeast Asia and has experienced top-level futsal on the world's biggest stage.
Upon taking over the "hot seat" in Indonesia in August 2024, the Spanish strategist identified a core problem: Indonesian players possess excellent individual technique and creativity, but they lack tactical discipline and often lose emotional control at crucial moments. Instead of eliminating the Indonesian players' sharpest weapon – creativity and improvisation – Coach Souto focused on structuring it.
"Indonesian players have the ability to create individual breakthroughs, but this potential needs to be unlocked to its fullest," he remarked. Under the guidance of the coach born in 1974, Indonesian futsal has transformed into a team that knows how to play tenaciously, control their mentality, and deliver clinical finishing blows.
The Southeast Asian Championship and the SEA Games gold medal are the "sweet fruits" of the combination of the wild spirit of Indonesian players and the scientific tactical thinking of Hector Souto. Now, at the Asian Futsal Championship, they are proving to the entire continent that their rise is the inevitable result of a sound investment process, not luck. Indonesia is confident of defeating the Vietnamese futsal team in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Asian Futsal Championship on February 3rd.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nho-dau-futsal-indonesia-vuon-len-20260202093331747.htm
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