According to the expected schedule, ASEAN Cup 2026 will close on August 26th. If they reach the final, the Vietnamese team will only have less than a month to prepare for the FIFA ASEAN Cup, a tournament expected to kick off on September 21st.
The fact that the two tournaments take place close together forces the Vietnamese national team coaching staff to carefully consider personnel. The ASEAN Cup is still a traditional playground and of special significance to regional fans, while the FIFA ASEAN Cup is considered to be more competitive thanks to gathering top Southeast Asian teams and some guests from outside the region.
Notably, the FIFA ASEAN Cup is held during FIFA Days, so the match results will directly affect the points on the FIFA rankings. This is considered an opportunity for the Vietnamese team to improve their current position and accumulate more experience in matches with high professional quality.
Besides professional factors, the new tournament also attracts attention thanks to its attractive prize money. According to the previously announced plan, the total prize fund of the tournament is up to 4 million USD, of which the champion team can receive 1 million USD.
With the current world No. 99 ranking, the Vietnamese team is likely to be in the highest seed group. This means that coach Kim Sang-sik's team can face strong opponents in the region as well as guest teams such as India or China.
The dense schedule makes the risk of overload for key players clear. If using the strongest force throughout the ASEAN Cup, the team may face physical disadvantages when entering the FIFA ASEAN Cup. Conversely, rotating too much in the ASEAN Cup also potentially affects the goal of defending the championship.
In that context, expanding the depth of the squad and creating opportunities for new factors to show their ability will be an important task for coach Kim Sang-sik. A force with uniform quality in many positions is considered the key to helping the Vietnamese team maintain competitiveness in both major arenas in 2026.
