The draw ceremony for the group stage and schedule of the 2026 Southeast Asian Football Championship - ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026 will take place at 4:00 PM on January 15, in Jakarta (Indonesia), marking the official start time of the largest national team tournament in the region.
The ASEAN Cup 2026 final round has the participation of 10 Southeast Asian teams. Among them, 9 teams including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam won direct tickets to the group stage. The remaining spot is determined through the qualifying round between Brunei and Timor-Leste.
The seed grouping is based on the average performance of the two most recent ASEAN Cups. Accordingly, Vietnam and Thailand - the two teams that reached the final of ASEAN Cup 2024 are ranked in Group 1 and are not in the same group.
Group 2 includes Malaysia and Singapore; group 3 is Philippines and Indonesia; group 4 includes Cambodia and Myanmar; group 5 includes Laos and the winning team in the qualifying match between Brunei and Timor-Leste.
ASEAN Cup 2026 continues to apply the round-robin format in the group stage, in the form of home - away. Each team plays 4 matches, including 2 home matches and 2 away matches, in the period from July 24 to August 8. The top two teams in each group will win the right to enter the semi-finals.
The semi-finals and finals are organized in a one-on-one format, expected to take place from August 15 to August 26.
At the ASEAN Cup 2024, the Vietnamese team won the championship after two final matches against Thailand with a total score of 5-3, thereby winning the regional tournament for the third time.
ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026 takes place from July 24 to August 26, 2026, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the tournament's organization. This is considered one of the most notable sports events of Southeast Asian football in 2026.
