The Thai team is completing the final preparations for the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final against the Vietnamese team. The match takes place at 8:00 PM on August 22nd at Rajamangala Stadium (Bangkok), where the home team is expected to maximize their field advantage.
Before the important confrontation, midfielder Seksan Ratree said that the Thai team has had specific calculations for each match and wants to achieve favorable results at home.
We will have our own calculations for each match. First, we must take advantage of the home field to win. I hope Thai fans will come to the stadium in large numbers to cheer for the team. Everyone will do their best to achieve the goal of winning," Seksan Ratree shared.
The 23-year-old midfielder is one of the notable factors of the Thai national team at the ASEAN Cup 2026. Ratree regularly starts in midfield and contributes to the team's organizational ability and state transition under coach Anthony Hudson.
In the first leg of the semi-finals, Ratree assisted Teerasak Poeiphimai to open the score in the 3-1 victory over Singapore. He himself then scored to increase the score to 3-0 for Thailand in the 51st minute. This performance shows Ratree's role in the tactical system of the Golden Temple country team.
According to Ratree, the Thai team is focusing on recovering physical strength, adapting to tactical requirements and improving coordination between positions before the final match.
We are trying to recover our fitness to prepare for the match, grasp the coach's tactics, build cohesion and coordinate well with each other. The whole team has been training and working together for almost a month and a half. Everyone is very professional and we hope to win. We need to recover as quickly as possible," the Thai midfielder said.
This is the third consecutive time Vietnam and Thailand have met in the regional tournament final. At the 2022 AFF Cup, Thailand surpassed Vietnam to win the championship. Two years later, the Vietnamese team under the guidance of coach Kim Sang-sik defeated Thailand in two final matches to win the championship.
At ASEAN Cup 2026, the two teams continue to create the most anticipated confrontation of the tournament. The first leg takes place in Bangkok on August 22, before the second leg is held at My Dinh Stadium (Hanoi) at 8:00 PM on August 26.
With Thailand, the victory at Rajamangala stadium will help coach Anthony Hudson's team create an advantage before the away trip to Hanoi. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese team aims for a good enough result in Thailand before returning home to decide the championship.
