TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian women's national football team has been eliminated from the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers. They lost 1-2 to Taiwan in the final match of Group D at Indomilk Arena, Tangerang Regency, on Saturday, July 5, 2025.
The coach of the Indonesian women's national team, Satoru Mochizuki, praised his players' performance despite the loss to Taiwan. "We thought the game would be dominated by them, but it turns out we played well and were able to put up a good fight," said the Japanese coach at a press conference after the match.
"So today the players were more daring to build attacks, play forward, take chances, and shoot," he said.
When asked why his team performed better against Taiwan, ranked 42nd in the world, than when playing against Pakistan, ranked 157th in the world, Mochizuki said it was a common occurrence in football.
He stated that a team playing their last game usually has a stronger motivation to display their best performance.
"Usually, wherever it is, in the last match of a tournament, the spirit is usually at its peak. Perhaps not only wanting to qualify and play in Sydney, Australia next year, but the last match usually gives the players the spirit to continue playing well and also makes the game meaningful for the future," he explained.
Mochizuki mentioned that the reason for not fielding Sydney Hoppe in the three matches was because her performance was declining. "Sydney joined the national team after finishing the league and tournaments in America and became the champion, so her physical condition was also weak. It seems she is also slimmer and her performance has declined a bit," he said.
Satoru Mochizuki Wants to Be Given a Long Time
Satoru Mochizuki wants to be given a long time to develop the Indonesian women's national team. This is in response to the statement made by PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir, who wants to review the work of the Japanese coach when his contract ends in five months to decide whether to continue the cooperation or not.
At a press conference after the 1-2 defeat to Taiwan at Indomilk Arena, Tangerang Regency, on Saturday, Mochizuki indirectly hoped that his contract would be extended so that he could develop the women's national team into a very strong team.
"So indeed, if we want to build a team, it takes a long time. Then we build it little by little so it can become strong. That's why I think if given the chance, I want to build this team little by little so that it can become a very strong team," said Mochizuki.
The 61-year-old coach then cited Japan, which became the world champion in 2011 in Germany and won the silver medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, England. At that time, Mochizuki was an assistant coach to head coach Norio Sasaki.
"I and the Japanese team got the chance to win the Women's World Cup (2011). Japan, to achieve that success, worked hard and made developments for 10 years, 20 years, and even 30 years. So I also want to take the good things that can be applied in Indonesia and continue to develop women's football in Indonesia," said Mochizuki, who was appointed as the women's national team coach in February 2024.
After the failure in the AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers, Garuda Pertiwi shifted its focus to the ASEAN Women's Championship tournament to be held next month in Vietnam. "Every time we participate in a tournament, we want to win and be champions. Now we are striving towards that. So now we are thinking about how to win," he said.
Furthermore, he mentioned that his team may not be reinforced by several diaspora players in the tournament. However, he is optimistic that his team can still give their best as they still have quality players such as Sheva Imut, Helsya Maeisyaroh, and Reva Octaviani.
"In the AFF, we may be without diaspora players, because they are playing in the league. But we also have good players with extraordinary techniques like Sheva, Helsya, Reva," he said.
Indonesia is grouped in Group A with Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia in the ASEAN Women's Championship. Vietnam and Thailand are strong forces in women's football, but Mochizuki welcomed the meeting with both countries as it can elevate their team to a higher level.
"So when we want to become a team that will be able to consistently compete in the Women's Asian Cup and qualify, of course we have to continue to face opponents like Thailand, Myanmar, who are strong. We have to keep trying to face them, see their strengths, and get used to playing against them and winning, so that we can continue to improve and move forward," he said.
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