The Thai team entered the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final with the Vietnamese team with very high determination. They want to repay the debt borrowed from coach Kim Sang-sik and his team at the ASEAN Cup 2024 final. Although the squad is not rated as highly as the Vietnamese team, Thailand still has many good players in all 3 lines, strong enough to make a difference in the final.
The leader and the most important player of the "War Elephants" at this year's ASEAN Cup is midfielder Sarach Yooyen. With more than 90 appearances for the national team, Sarach is too familiar to the Vietnamese team.
This midfielder possesses excellent tactical vision, a solid playing mentality and is considered a symbol of victory for the team. He once scored against Vietnam at the 2022 ASEAN Cup final at My Dinh Stadium, before winning the championship with his home team after the second leg.
To date, Sarach has been crowned 4 times in the regional arena and is aiming for his 5th title. He will be a player that Vietnamese national team midfielders such as Hoang Duc, Dinh Bac, Le Pham Thanh Long must be wary of.
Supporting Sarach in midfield are two young, active midfielders with very impressive finishing ability, Seksan Ratree and Kakana Khamyok. They have scored 4 goals from the beginning of the season, and can create breakthrough options from the second line in a deadlocked game.
In attack, the Thai team will rely on the brilliance of young striker Teerasak Poeiphimai, who has scored 4 goals since the beginning of the tournament. This achievement is only inferior to Nguyen Xuan Son and Dinh Bac of the Vietnamese team. Teerasak Poeiphimai has the ability to play independently and seize opportunities very well.
Besides, the "War Elephant" also has potential striker Yotsakorn Burapha, who has scored 2 goals since the beginning of the tournament. Burapha once scored against U23 Vietnam in the 2025 SEA Games final. He has good speed, powerful sweeps and very dangerous free kicks.
The defense is Thailand's most worrying line when they have conceded 3 goals in 2 recent matches. However, this is the line that gathers the most experienced players of the team such as Pansa Hemviboon (36 years old), Manuel Bihr (33 years old), Narubadin (32 years old)... Having experienced many matches against the Vietnamese team in the past, they can completely restrain the attacking stars of the Vietnamese team.
The 2026 ASEAN Cup final first leg between Thailand and Vietnam will take place at 8:00 p.m. on August 22.
