On the journey to the final, the Thai team won 5 matches and suffered 1 defeat, scored 14 goals and conceded 3 goals. The Golden Temple team lost to Singapore in the second leg of the semi-finals but still won the right to continue thanks to a large victory in the first leg.
The Vietnamese team has a better record when maintaining a 6-match unbeaten streak, scoring 17 goals and conceding only 1 goal. In the semi-finals, coach Kim Sang-sik's team defeated Malaysia with the same score of 2-0 after two legs.
This is the fourth time Vietnam and Thailand have met in the ASEAN Cup final. In the past, Thailand often dominated in direct confrontations.
However, the balance has changed significantly when Vietnam won both final matches in 2024, with scores of 2-1 and 3-2 respectively, thereby winning the championship right on the away field.
After two years, the Vietnamese team still retains some faces who participated in the campaign 2 years ago such as Xuan Son, Tien Anh, Hoang Duc, Quang Hai, Xuan Manh...
Thailand entered the tournament with an incomplete force when Suphanat, Supachok and some other players were absent. However, this team still has experienced players such as Sarach Yooyen, Manuel Tom Bihr and Teerasak Poeiphimai.
The match between Thailand vs Vietnam in the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final takes place at 8:00 PM on August 22nd at Rajamangala Stadium.
