Kalasuara -

Indonesia's women's national team defended its AFF Women's Cup title with a 5-0 win over Laos in the final at Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Malaysia on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. Garuda Pertiwi's five goals came from five different players: Sydney Hopper, Isabelle Nottet, Estella Loupatty, Felicia de Zeeuw and captain Emily Nahon.

Indonesia went ahead in the 33rd minute when Hopper converted a scramble from a Felicia de Zeeuw corner. The score held until halftime. The second half turned into a goal rush: Nottet doubled the lead with a long-range strike in the 48th minute, Loupatty added a third eight minutes later, de Zeeuw scored a fourth from outside the penalty box in the 68th minute, and Nahon closed out the game in the 84th.

Why isn't this title the peak of ASEAN women's football yet?

The AFF Women's Cup is Southeast Asia's second-tier women's football competition and a qualifying path to the AFF Women's Championship, the region's top tournament. Indonesia, Laos and Singapore advanced to the 2027 edition as the three best teams from the 2026 Women's Cup. The real test of Garuda Pertiwi's strength will come against teams that have stayed out of this second-tier competition.

A winding road to a second title

Indonesia's run through Group B wasn't smooth. Satoru Mochizuki's side beat Timor Leste 2-0, then only drew 1-1 with Cambodia, finishing as group runner-up on goal difference. Everything changed in the knockout rounds: Indonesia beat Group A winner Singapore 2-0 in the semifinal on July 19, 2026, before routing Laos 5-0 in the final. The two wins added up to a 7-0 aggregate without conceding a single goal.

Across four tournament matches, Indonesia scored 10 goals and conceded just one, averaging 2.5 goals a game. Mochizuki had set out his team's goal from the start of the tournament. "What we prioritized most was defending our title. We won the previous edition, so this time our target was winning back-to-back titles," he said. He added that his team had another measure of success in mind. "In the previous tournament, our sole focus was winning matches. This time, on top of wanting to win, we also wanted to see the team develop as preparation for the next challenge."

From a 2024 comeback to a 2026 goal rout

This is Indonesia's second AFF Women's Cup title. In the final of the inaugural 2024 edition, Indonesia beat Cambodia 3-1 on two goals from Reva Octaviani and one from Sydney Hopper, the same player who opened the scoring again in the 2026 final. The difference: two years ago the win rested on one dominant scorer. This time five different players contributed goals, from a dead-ball scramble to a long-range strike to finishes inside the box.

Before the tournament began, national team player Viny Silfianus Sunaryo said the squad had prepared well in advance for any opponent in the competition. "Every team comes here wanting the title, so we can't take that lightly. We'll be ready for anyone and give our best in every match," she said. She also spoke about the team's preparation. "Our preparation was fairly long, and the coach set up training suited to competing at this level. So we're confident we can give our best at this event and defend the title."

Indonesia's starting lineup in the final mixed domestic and diaspora players: Laila Masykuroh, Gea Yumanda, Emily Nahon, Remini Rumbewas, Pauline van de Pol, Isabelle Nottet, Felicia de Zeeuw, Katarina Stalin, Sheva Imut, Estella Loupatty and Sydney Hopper.