The Thai national team is facing a difficult challenge after losing 0-2 at home to the Vietnamese team in the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final. In the second leg, they will play against the Vietnamese team at My Dinh Stadium at 8:00 PM on August 26.
According to Thai media, the defeat in the first leg of the final has pushed the "War Elephants" into an almost desperate situation. Since the ASEAN Cup switched to the first and second leg format in the final, the Thai team has participated 8 times and won 4 times.
However, a worrying statistic is that if the Thai national team loses the first leg final, they will only have a successful comeback to win the championship in 2016. The remaining times, the most successful team in this playground only finished second.
In the 2007 ASEAN Cup final, Thailand lost to Singapore 1-2 away, then drew 1-1 at home. By losing 2-3 overall, they only won the runner-up title.
A year later, the Thai team met Vietnam in the final. Mr. Calisto's team unexpectedly won 2-1 at Rajamangala stadium. In the second leg at My Dinh, the two teams drew 1-1 with a golden equalizer by Le Cong Vinh, helping the Vietnamese team win the regional championship for the first time.
In 2012, Thailand lost to Singapore 1-3 in the first leg of the final and could not successfully reverse the score when they only drew 1-1 in the second leg.
In 2014, under the leadership of Kiatisak, the Thai team won against Malaysia 2-0 in the first leg final at home. In the second leg, the team lost 2-3 but still won the championship thanks to a 4-3 overall victory.
In 2016, Thailand lost to Indonesia 1-2 away from home. But in the second leg, they won 2-0, creating a spectacular comeback to win the championship thanks to a 3-2 overall victory.
At the 2020 tournament, the Thai team won the Southeast Asian championship for the 7th time when they defeated Indonesia with a total score of 6-2 after 2 legs at a neutral stadium in Singapore.
In the final of the 2022 ASEAN Cup, the Thai team successfully defended their title when they defeated the Vietnamese team with a total score of 3-2 after 2 legs.
In the ASEAN Cup 2024 final, Thailand lost to Vietnam 1-2 in Phu Tho. In the second leg, they continued to receive a 2-3 defeat, thereby losing with a total score of 3-5.
Overall, with a 2-0 victory away from home thanks to two goals from Hai Long and Quang Hai, the Vietnamese team has one hand on the championship cup. Mr. Kim Sang-sik's team is holding too many advantages and history has also proven that the Thai team is not good at reversing the score after losing the first leg final.
