Physical condition and adaptation pose challenges for the Indonesian women's futsal team

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The coach of the Indonesian women’s futsal team, Luis Estrella, believes that physical issues, adaptation difficulties, and the failure to anticipate the opponent’s direct play were factors behind the 4-4 draw against Malaysia in Group A of the 2026 AFF Women’s Futsal Cup in Thailand on Wednesday.

Estrella said that his team actually controlled the game at the beginning, but struggled when Malaysia changed its approach.

“Some of our players did not follow their opponents, so we conceded three goals,” said Estrella in a press conference, according to an audio recording.

The Indonesian team improved its performance in the second half after making tactical adjustments at halftime.

“In the second half, I spoke with the team, and we made tactical adjustments. I think we played the second half very well. Calmly, we were able to take a 4-3 lead,” said the Spanish coach.

“Then, we were unlucky… yesterday against Thailand, the first goal came from two rebounds. And today, the 4-4 goal came from a shot by a player that hit a Malaysian player and went in,” he said.

“We have five players who had the flu last week for a few days and have not fully recovered physically. We were also the last team to arrive in Thailand, about 36 hours ago. So, our physical adaptation was not good enough,” he said.

He also highlighted the team’s young and developing character.

“Today we played with a 17-year-old player, with Nizrina (Fauziah Permana) making her second appearance, along with Riska (Aprilia),” he said.

The 4-4 draw means that Indonesia’s chances of advancing to the semi-finals depend on the results of other matches between Malaysia and Thailand.