The Vietnamese and Malaysian teams have faced each other 15 times at the ASEAN Cup, in which the Vietnamese team won 9, drew 3 and lost 3 matches. However, it is noteworthy that two of the three defeats of the Vietnamese team took place in the semi-finals.
The first time the two teams met in the semi-finals was at the 2010 ASEAN Cup. In the first leg at home, Malaysia won 2-0 thanks to a double by Safee Sali in the second half.
Four days later, the Vietnamese team could not create a comeback when the two teams drew 0-0 at My Dinh. The Malaysian team qualified for the final with a total score of 2-0, then won the tournament for the first time when they defeated the Indonesian team.
Four years later, the two teams continued to face each other in the semi-finals of ASEAN Cup 2014. The Vietnamese team gained an advantage when they won 2-1 at Shah Alam stadium in the first leg. Safiq Rahim put the home team ahead from the penalty spot, before Vo Huy Toan and Nguyen Van Quyet successively scored goals to help the Vietnamese team reverse the score.
However, that advantage was not preserved in the second leg. Malaysia surprised when scoring 4 goals in the first half at My Dinh. Vietnam only had two goals from Le Cong Vinh and lost 2-4 overall, thereby being eliminated with a total score of 4-5.
At the 2018 ASEAN Cup, the two teams met for the third time in a knockout round, but this time it was the final. The Vietnamese team drew 2-2 at Bukit Jalil Stadium in the first leg, before defeating the Malaysian team 1-0 at My Dinh thanks to a goal by Nguyen Anh Duc.
This victory helped the Vietnamese team win the championship with a total score of 3-2, and also showed that the head-to-head results between the two teams have significant differences depending on each round.
In the group stage, the Vietnamese team usually has a favorable result against the Malaysian team. The team once defeated this opponent 3-0 at the ASEAN Cup 2020 and continued to win with the same score at the ASEAN Cup 2022. Previously, the Vietnamese team also won against Malaysia at the ASEAN Cup 2018, 2016, 2008 and 1998.
Meanwhile, the two semi-final encounters both witnessed Malaysia qualify for the next round. This is a noteworthy statistic before the third time the two teams meet in the round for the 4 strongest teams.
At ASEAN Cup 2026, Vietnam team won the top spot in Group A with 10 points after 4 matches, including 3 wins and 1 draw. The team scored 13 goals and only conceded 1 goal.
The Malaysian team is ranked second in Group B with 9 points after 3 wins and 1 defeat. The team scored 7 goals, conceded 3 goals and won the right to enter the semi-finals after winning against the Philippines team in the last match.
According to the schedule, the Malaysian team will host the Vietnamese team at Kuala Lumpur stadium in the first leg of the semi-final on August 16. The two teams will play the second leg at My Dinh on August 19.
This is the third time Vietnam and Malaysia have met in the ASEAN Cup semi-finals. For Vietnam, the goal this time is not only to win the right to the final but also to break the unfavorable head-to-head record against opponents in this round.
