In the first leg, the Vietnamese team won against Thailand 2-0 away from home. The result of the rematch at My Dinh Stadium on the evening of August 26 will decide the champion team in the region's number one tournament. In addition, the performance of individuals from both teams will also choose the owner of the most prestigious individual award - Most Valuable Player - MVP.
Throughout the ASEAN Cups, the MVP award is always the most sought-after title by outstanding stars of regional football. The golden list of honors in the past has named legends such as Zainal Abidin Hassan (Malaysia), Kiatisuk Senamuang and Chanathip Songkrasin (Thailand), Lionel Lewis and Noh Alam Shah (Singapore), and most recently in 2024 Nguyen Xuan Son of the Vietnamese national team.
Striker Nguyen Xuan Son once again became a top candidate for the MVP title when he shone brightly in this year's tournament with 5 goals, and also topped the list of players with the most goals in the tournament. This striker with ideal physique won 2 awards for the best player of the match in both semi-final matches against Malaysia - where he scored 3/4 goals for the Vietnamese team. Since the beginning of the tournament, he has launched a total of 27 shots, of which 12 times the ball went on target.
Teammate Nguyen Dinh Bac also pocketed 5 goals and received the Best Player of the Match award twice after a hat-trick against Timor-Leste and a double against Cambodia. This 22-year-old striker also contributed 3 assists, including a delicate backheel in the first leg final against Thailand for Nguyen Hai Long to open the scoring.
On the Thai team's side, striker Teerasak Poeiphimai with 4 goals is also a bright candidate for this prestigious individual title. He has taken 13 shots with 6 on target, and received the Man of the Match award once in the 5-0 victory over Laos in the group stage.
Ilhan Fandi (Singapore) and G. Pavithran (Malaysia) are two other faces who were twice honored as Players of the Match before their team stopped in the semi-finals.
Dinh Bac, Xuan Son and Teerasak are also fiercely competing for the Golden Boot title - an award that once belonged to legendary strikers such as Bambang Pamungkas (Indonesia), Noh Alam Shah (Singapore), Worrawoot Srimaka (Thailand), Safee Sali (Malaysia) or Le Huynh Duc (Vietnam).
The race for the title of Best Goalkeeper of the tournament promises to be a duel between two "spider-men" participating in the final: Le Giang Patrik of the Vietnamese team and Kampon Phatomakkakul of the Thai national team.
In his first start for the Vietnamese national team at an official tournament, Le Giang made a total of 17 saves – the most in the tournament – and won the Man of the Match award in the first leg final after a series of spectacular saves. Le Giang's excellent form has helped the Vietnamese national team concede only 1 goal throughout the tournament, the least among the participating teams.
Meanwhile, Kampon Phatomakkakul has affirmed his solidity in goal with 16 successful saves in 7 matches, although he could not prevent the Vietnamese team from scoring 2 goals at Rajamangala stadium a few days ago.
The Best Young Player title will be an exciting competition between Mitch Baker of Indonesia (who scored 4 goals in his debut for the national team), Pavithran Gunalan of Malaysia and Yotsakon Burapha of Thailand - young talents who have played brilliantly throughout the past month at ASEAN Cup 2026.
At ASEAN Cup 2024, Nguyen Xuan Son won the Golden Boot as well as the MVP of the tournament. If he continues to score a double of this individual title at this year's tournament, he will become the first person to achieve this feat.
