As the host team, the Indonesia futsal team ranked first in Group A when they defeated Kyrgyzstan, South Korea and drew with Iraq. Meanwhile, the Vietnam futsal team ranked second in Group B when they defeated Kuwait, Lebanon but lost to Thailand.
This is only the 2nd time the Indonesian futsal team has passed the group stage of the continental tournament. Facing a familiar opponent Vietnam, coach Hector Souto's team aims to win and win a ticket to the semi-finals.
However, this goal will not be easy. In the recent match at SEA Games 33, the Indonesian futsal team lost to Vietnam 0-1. According to coach Souto, the two teams understand each other too well, so there is nothing to hide.
We have met the Vietnamese futsal team a lot, so we know very well what to face. I hope there will be the return of some players and with a full squad, we can contribute a good match," said Souto, who led Indonesia to win the SEA Games 2025 gold medal despite losing to the Vietnamese futsal team 0-1.
I know that the coach of the Vietnamese futsal team and some of their players were once my students. When the Vietnamese team reached the semi-finals in 2016, I was an assistant coach, but this time, I hope to bring Indonesia to the semi-finals," Mr. Souto added.
The Vietnamese futsal team reached the semi-finals of the Asian Championship in 2016, after defeating Japan in a penalty shootout. To date, that is still the team's best achievement in the continental arena. Under the guidance of coach Diego Giustozzi and a team of potential players, the Vietnamese futsal team has many opportunities to repeat the achievement of 10 years ago.
The Argentine coach believes that the Vietnamese futsal team has progressed through each match and is confident that they will cause difficulties for the Indonesian team.
The Indonesian team comes from the same region and has a similar playing style to us. But we have reached this stage with a good start because the players have played very well in the three group stage matches and I can see that they are improving match by match," Giustozzi said.
The match between the Vietnam futsal team and the Indonesia futsal team will take place at 7:00 PM on February 3rd.
