The ASEAN Cup 2026 group stage has closed, determining the 4 teams participating in the semi-finals including Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. This is a rare time that all 4 teams that have won the tournament have appeared in the round for the 4 strongest teams.
According to the schedule, the Singapore team will host the Thai team in the first leg of the semi-final on August 15. One day later, the Vietnamese team will be guests at the Malaysian team's stadium.
In the second leg, the Thai team returns home to meet the Singapore team on August 18. On August 19, the Vietnamese team will host the Malaysian team.
Assessing the ability of the teams to advance, Indonesian football expert Faris Ruswandi leans towards the scenario that Vietnam and Thailand will create the ASEAN Cup 2026 final.
Looking at the current situation, I think that the two teams Vietnam and Thailand will participate in the ASEAN Cup 2026 final," said Mr. Faris Ruswandi.
However, the Indonesian expert believes that surprises in the semi-finals cannot be ruled out. According to him, the nature of the knockout matches makes all predictions only for reference.
“Football contains many surprises. ASEAN Cup 2026 witnessed many shocks in the past. I think the semi-finals will be fierce and very anticipated,” Faris Ruswandi said.
The Vietnamese team entered the semi-finals with an advantage in head-to-head record against Malaysia. In the last 10 encounters, the Vietnamese team won 9 matches. However, history also shows certain risks when the two teams meet in the semi-finals.
At the 2010 and 2014 ASEAN Cups, the Vietnamese team both stopped before the Malaysian team in this round. Therefore, despite being rated higher in head-to-head competition, coach Kim Sang-sik's team must still be cautious in the two upcoming matches.
In the remaining match, Thailand also had an overwhelming record against Singapore. The Golden Temple team has won against Singapore 10 consecutive matches. The last time Singapore defeated Thailand was in the first leg of the AFF Cup 2012 final, when they won 3-1 at home.
Singapore then successfully defended the advantage and won the championship with a total score of 3-2 after two legs.
The above statistics help Vietnam and Thailand to be rated higher before the semi-finals. However, when the gap between teams is decided through two matches, concentration and the ability to take advantage of opportunities will play an important role in the race to win tickets to the ASEAN Cup 2026 final.
