FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 is the first tournament that FIFA directly organizes and operates in the Southeast Asian regional arena. The matches will take place from September 24 to October 3, and are scored on the FIFA rankings according to regulations for international matches during FIFA Days.
With a large scale of prizes, teams in the region are likely to send their strongest squads to participate in the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026. According to the format announced by FIFA, the tournament includes two divisions: Division 1 and Division 2.
In Division 1, Group A includes Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Singapore. Group B has Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and Pakistan. The matches will take place in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Division 2 includes Group A with Hong Kong (China), Myanmar and Brunei; Group B includes Cambodia, Laos and Timor-Leste. Matches in Division 2 will take place in Hong Kong (China).
Although FIFA has not announced the detailed schedule as well as the regulations of the tournament, the heat of the tournament has arisen immediately after the draw results. Thai media paid great attention to Group B, where the Thai team is present along with the Vietnamese, Filipino and Pakistani teams.
According to them, the match with the Vietnamese team "promises to be very tense". They also emphasized "the Thai team has a chance to atone for their mistakes when they are in the same group as the Vietnamese team".
At the ASEAN Cup 2024 final, Vietnam won both matches against Thailand. In the first leg in Phu Tho, Nguyen Xuan Son scored a double to help Vietnam win 2-1. In the second leg, Xuan Son was injured early and Supachok had a goal lacking sportsmanship, Vietnam still won 3-2, thereby convincingly winning the championship.
Currently, Thailand (ranked 94th in the world) and Vietnam (ranked 99th) are the two teams with the highest rankings in Southeast Asia. The rivalry between the two teams has created many memorable encounters in recent years.
Before meeting at the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026, the two teams may meet at the ASEAN Cup 2026 - a tournament that is taking place and has a 30-year history in Southeast Asia. The Vietnamese team plays in Group A, and the Thai team in Group B. The two teams may meet in the semi-finals or finals.
