Being In One Group With Australia And 2 ASEAN Rivals In The 2022 Asian Cup, Women's National Team Coach: We Must Focus And Work Hard

Illustration of the women's national team (Photo: PSSI)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian women's national team is in Group B of the 2022 Asian Cup which is inhabited by tough opponents, namely Australia, Thailand and the Philippines. Coach Rudy Eka Priyambada confirmed that his squad would fight as hard as they could.

"We have to focus and work hard to show the best in the Asian Cup later," said Rudy, quoted by Antara from Indonesian Football Association's (PSSI) statement.

Australia, Thailand, and the Philippines are three teams with experience in the Women's Asian Cup.

Including the 2022 edition, Australia has appeared in the competition eight times, while Thailand has 17 and the Philippines 10. As for Indonesia, only five times.

In terms of achievement, Australia won the tournament in 2010, Thailand won in 1983 and the Philippines was the sixth-ranked team in 2018. While Indonesia, which last appeared in the Women's Asian Cup in 1989, became semifinalists in 1977 and 1986.

Meanwhile, the captain of the women's national team, Ade Mustikiana, admitted that Group B was a tough group.

However, Ade ensured that he and his colleagues will try to show maximum performance in the tournament.

"I have never faced a team like Australia, had met Thailand and the Philippines while participating in several tournaments. However, my friends and I will try to look solid and maintain optimism," said Ade.

The 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup which will be held in India from January 20 to February 6 will be attended by 12 countries divided into three groups.

Based on Thursday's draw, Group A includes hosts India, China, Taiwan, and Iran.

Then in Group B, there are Australia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. While Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Myanmar are in Group C.

Hasil drawing AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022 menempatkan Timnas Wanita Indonesia bergabung di Grup B bersama Australia, Thailand, dan Filipina.

Semangat berjuang Garuda Pertiwi. Doa kami bersamamu! ✊🇮🇩#KitaGaruda #MeraihImpian #GarudaPertiwi #PertiwiBerani pic.twitter.com/qv2Vp5z4cQ

— PSSI (@PSSI) October 28, 2021

The winners and the second-placed group will qualify for the quarter-finals along with the two best third-placed. After that, the competition continued to the semifinals and finals.