On the evening of August 22, the Thai team welcomed Vietnam at Rajamangala Stadium in the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final. In the first half, the home team played better with 64% possession time and 7 shots.
However, in the second half, when the Vietnamese team adjusted personnel, Thailand could no longer maintain the initiative. Hai Long and Quang Hai, who came on as substitutes, scored in the 62nd and 69th minutes, helping the defending champion seal a 2-0 victory.
After the match, the media of the Golden Temple country expressed disappointment with the performance of the home team.
In the analysis, a leading Thai newspaper wrote: "The War Elephants lost 0-2 to Vietnam. Notably, this defeat happened right at home, witnessed by thousands of fans. This result helps the'Golden Star Warriors' - the defending champion have an advantage to enter the second leg at My Dinh Stadium".
Meanwhile, on Thai football forums, fans in this country also left frank comments.
A fan wrote: "I predicted from the beginning. Anyway, I can't do it in this match. Let's wait for the next match to see what I say".
Besides, there are other comments such as: "If we keep playing like this, we will even lose to Cambodia", or "When will Thailand football participate in the World Cup? Haha. Like this?".
Even, one spectator humorously said: "The same score as Man United... I don't know what else to say" (Man United just suffered a 0-2 defeat to Hull City in the opening match of the 2026-2027 Premier League).
The 2-0 victory gives the Vietnamese team a great advantage before hosting Thailand in the second leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final at My Dinh Stadium on August 26.
