Twelve time champions Iran and Japan will be among the teams out to clinch the AFC Futsal Asian Cup kicking off tomorrow in Jakarta.
Thirteen teams that featured at the previous campaign in 2024 will be back in Jakarta. This included the ever-present quartet of Iran, Japan, Thailand and Uzbekistan, who extend their record of appearing in every Finals to date.
The first matchday opens at the Jakarta International Velodrome with a clash between world number 11 ranked Thailand and Lebanon in Group B.
GROUP A
Hosts Indonesia will not have it easy in Group A with the hosts having to contend with Korea, Kyrgyz Republic and Iraq.
Hector Souto’s side, however, will head into the tournament oozing confidence after winning the SEA Games gold medal for the first time in the 2025 edition and will fancy their chances in their opener against Korea.
Souto is expected to rely on the likes of Rizki Xavier, Ardiansyah Nur, Dewa Rizki Amanda and Romi Humandri – who played vital roles in their SEA Games triumph – to power his side against their Group A opponents.
Iraq excelled in Group D of the Qualifiers with wins against Saudi Arabia, Chinese Taipei and Pakistan.
Preparation for the continental tournament saw head coach Joao Carlos Barbucia honing his players in a training camp in Kuwait, which included several friendly matches.
Salim Kadhim – who scored five goals in the Qualifiers – will be one to look out for as Iraq look to better their best ever finish of fourth place.
Korea qualified after finishing second in Group B behind Thailand, tied on seven points but with an inferior goal difference.
The East Asian side have not been able to hit the heights of the inaugural edition in 1999 where they finished runners-up with their last nine participations ending in the group stage.
Goals will be a concern for Paulo Fernandez, with only seven scored in the Qualifiers but the head coach would have been pleased that they came from different players.
Kyrgyz Republic will be aiming to carry their qualifying form – where they topped Group F ahead of Central Asian rivals Uzbekistan – into the tournament.
Getting off to a flying start with a 7-1 win against Timor-Leste, which were followed by two thrilling games where they beat Palestine 2-1 and Uzbekistan 3-2 victory, the qualifying campaign showed the recent progress Kyrgyz Republic have made.
With confidence oozing, Kyrgyz Republic will expect to better their 2024 quarter-final appearance.
GROUP B
Having thrice finished runners-up, Thailand will be determined to go all the way at Indonesia 2026 and will expect to kick off their campaign with victory against Lebanon on Matchday One.
The disappointment of losing the final to Islamic Republic of Iran two years ago will spur Thailand to go one better with Muhammad Osamanmusa spearheading their challenge after a qualifying campaign where he emerged the top scorer with six goals.
Head coach Rakphol Sainetngam, who returns to the national team fold after guiding Malaysia to the Finals, will have his work cut out to ensure Thailand stay among the upper echelons of Asian futsal.
An impressive qualifying campaign saw Vietnam top Group E with maximum points, scoring 20 goals and conceding only three in wins over Lebanon, China PR and Hong Kong, China.
Nguyen Thinh Phat and Tu Minh Quang grabbed five and four goals respectively, with both named in the squad for Indonesia 2026.
Head coach Diego Giustozzi will now look to bring that form into the Finals as Vietnam go in search of a first semi-final appearance.
Kuwait only narrowly missed out on qualifying directly as Group A winners after a 2-2 draw with Australia in their final group match, which saw the latter finish top with a superior goal difference.
With four goals each in the Qualifiers, Saleh Alfadhel and Abdulaziz Alsarraj will be the ones to look out for as Kuwait eye a first title, with the last of their semi-final appearances achieved 12 years ago.
This will be their third consecutive Finals, having missed the 2016 and 2018 editions. That came after having made 11 straight participations prior.
A nervy qualifying campaign saw Lebanon start brightly with a 2-1 win against China PR before being held 1-1 by Hong Kong, China.
That left their fate out of their hands but China PR’s 4-0 defeat of Hong Kong, China meant Lebanon – despite losing by the same score to Vietnam – advanced as the group runners-up.
Missing out on Thailand 2024 broke a run of 12 straight Finals appearances and Lebanon will be targeting a strong performance at Indonesia 2026 to mark their return emphatically.
GROUP C
Four-time champions Japan will be determined to redeem themselves after exiting at the group stage in 2024, which meant missing out on the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Kensuke Takahashi has taken over from Kenichiro Kogure as head coach, guiding the East Asian side through an impressive qualifying campaign where they emerged as Group C winners, brushing aside challenges from Tajikistan, Cambodia and Macau.
With a well-balanced squad at his disposal, Takahashi can look to the likes of Yusei Arai, Shunta Uchida and Shoto Yamanaka – who scored 13 goals between them in the Qualifiers – to reclaim their place at the top of Asian futsal.
Uzbekistan will be keen to make their mark after what was a difficult qualifying campaign.
Neighbours Krygyz Republic pipped them to top spot in Group F but wins against Timor-Leste and Palestine meant Uzbekistan were able maintain their record of having never missed a single edition.
The 31-year-old Anaskhon Rakhmatov – who also played in the 2018 and 2024 editions – will be expected to lead their charge as Uzbekistan seek to finally lay their hands on the trophy.
Tajikistan will face a familiar foe in Japan, having finished second in Group C of the Qualifiers behind the four-time champions.
Having achieved their best-ever finish when they took fourth place at Thailand 2024, Tajikistan will be aiming to better that at Indonesia 2026.
Key to their chances will be Yorov Idris, who found the net five times in the Qualifiers.
Australia will be keen to further display their improvement after a sterling qualifying campaign where they emerged as Group A winners.
A total of 20 goals scored against Kuwait, India and Mongolia highlights the strength of Miles Downie’s side.
Corey Sewell will be a big miss after his four goals played a crucial part in their successful qualifying campaign but Downie still has dependable scorers in Jordan Guerreiro and Scott Rogan at his disposal.
GROUP D
It will require a gargantuan effort to stop Iran from advancing from Group D, with the defending champions having shown their immense quality in qualifying.
Iran were the highest scorers in the Qualifiers, notching 26 goals without conceding once, sweeping aside Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh.
They were unstoppable at Thailand 2024, winning all but one of their six matches by at least two goals and will be eyeing more of the same with head coach Vahid Shamsaee having a plethora of talent at his disposal.
Afghanistan booked their Finals ticket with a relatively straight-forward qualifying campaign, finishing as Group H winners.
Starting with a 10-1 win against Maldives, Afghanistan sealed a second appearance with a superb 8-0 victory against hosts Myanmar.
Despite having been drawn with Iran, Afghanistan will have no fear after having given the defending champions a tough fight when they met in the group stage of the 2024 edition.
Saudi Arabia’s initial target will be to reach the knockout stage.
Head coach Andreu Alvarez oversaw the Qualifiers where Saudi Arabia defeated Chinese Taipei and Pakistan before being edged by Iraq in their final match.
Fahad Rudyani was the star of their campaign, finding the net four times as Saudi Arabia displayed their attacking prowess with 19 goals.
Malaysia have it all to do as they return to the competition for the first time since 2018 with Iran already a familiar sight, having lost 4-0 to the Central Asian side in the Qualifiers.
Addie Azwan Zainal has taken over as head coach duties Rakphol Sainetngam – who has returned to take charge of his native Thailand – and will have to implement his ideas in a short period of time.
Several friendly matches were played as part of their week-long final preparation as Addie looks to guide Malaysia to a respectable outing.
