The history of ASEAN Cup finals in home and away formats shows that Thailand often encounters difficulties when playing at the opponent's home ground.
The "War Elephants" have reached the final 7 times since the tournament applied this format but have never won a final away from home.
In 2007, Thailand lost to Singapore 1-2 in the first leg away from home and then only drew 1-1 when returning home, thereby missing the opportunity to win the championship.
A year later, Thailand lost to Vietnam 1-2 at Rajamangala, then to My Dinh and drew Vietnam 1-1, accepting defeat with a total score of 2-3.
A similar scenario appeared at the 2012 ASEAN Cup. Thailand lost to Singapore 1-3 away from home, then won 1-0 in the second leg but was not enough to reverse the result.
Two consecutive championships in 2014 and 2016 also did not erase this statistic when Thailand successively lost to Malaysia and Indonesia away from home.
At the 2022 ASEAN Cup, Thailand drew Vietnam 2-2 in the first leg at My Dinh before winning the championship. Two years later, they continued to lose to Vietnam 1-2 at Viet Tri stadium and then lost 2-3 at home.
History is not on Thailand's side before the second leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final at My Dinh. After a 0-2 defeat at Rajamangala, the Golden Temple team must win by a difference of at least 3 goals to reverse the situation.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has the right to choose a suitable playing style. However, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team cannot be subjective, because Thailand is forced to attack and will play with the mindset of having nothing to lose.
Therefore, 90 minutes at My Dinh is still a challenge for the Vietnamese team, although the advantage is leaning towards the home team.
