'No one expected Indonesia to reach the semifinals'

This was the statement made by Coach Kensuke Takahashi, the head coach of Japan's futsal team, ahead of the 2026 Asian Futsal Championship semifinal match.

Kensuke Takahashi previously served as the head coach of Indonesia's futsal team from 2018 to 2021. Therefore, the Japanese strategist is very familiar with Indonesia's futsal scene — Japan’s opponent in the semifinals.

Before the match, Coach Takahashi shared: “I am very happy to compete against Indonesia because I built my career here with their national team, and now I will do my best to face them as the head coach of Japan’s national team,” Takahashi said.

Coach Takahashi admitted that Indonesia reaching the semifinals is incredibly surprising and praised the host team extensively: “Their team is strong and solid with excellent tactics, making it very hard to find any weaknesses. Their deep run is something no other team anticipated.”

In recent years, under Coach Souto Hector's leadership, Indonesia's futsal team has made remarkable progress. Most recently, at SEA Games 33, they won the gold medal after defeating Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, and only losing once to Vietnam.

On Japan’s futsal team side, they made a strong impression in the quarterfinals by beating Afghanistan 6-0. Coach Takahashi stated: “We played well, but there is still room for improvement both offensively and defensively,” he said. “The most important thing is to focus on every small detail as well as the mental aspect.”

The semifinal between Japan and Indonesia’s futsal teams will take place at 7:00 PM on February 5th. Earlier, Iran and Iraq will compete at 3:00 PM.