*This content was translated by AI.
South Korea's futsal national team suffered a crushing defeat to Indonesia in the first match of the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) futsal Asian Cup finals.
South Korea, led by head coach Paulo Fernandez (Portugal), lost 0-5 to host Indonesia in the first Group A match of the tournament at the Indonesia Arena in Jakarta, Indonesia, on the 27th (Korea time). In the FIFA futsal ranking, South Korea is 57th and Indonesia is 24th.
South Korea, which appointed Fernandez from Portugal as its new head coach last year, advanced to the finals in Group B of the Futsal Asian Cup qualifying round, second to Thailand, but suffered a crushing defeat from the first match of the finals. Indonesia's all-time record was three out of three.
"Indonesia took the lead with high intensity from the beginning of the game and scored the first goal with a kick-in in two minutes," AFC said. "South Korea had to step down deeply without responding to Indonesia's constant attacks."
South Korea will face Iraq on the 29th and Kyrgyzstan on the 31st in the second and third rounds of the group stage. The tournament, in which 16 Asian countries participate, will be divided into four groups of four teams, and the group stage will be held, and the second place in each group will advance to the quarterfinals. South Korea finished second in the first tournament in 1999, but failed to win the finals after the 2007 tournament and was eliminated from the group stage of the last three consecutive tournaments.
Meanwhile, Shin Tae-yong, a former Ulsan HD coach who previously led the Indonesian national soccer team, made a surprise visit to the stadium and became a hot topic in Indonesia.
Local media Elsinta said, "Coach Shin Tae-yong's name rang out at the Indonesian Arena. The crowd, who recognized his existence, cheered and cheered by shouting Shin Tae-yong's name, and Shin Tae-yong also waved his gratitude. Coach Shin Tae-yong has become a local hero by successfully leading Indonesia's age-specific representatives and the A national team from 2020 to 2025.
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*This content was translated by AI.
