A few hours after My Dinh erupted in celebration, Vietnam were already preparing to leave it behind.

The defending champions beat Malaysia 2-0 on August 19, completing a 4-0 aggregate semifinal victory, but their reward is arguably the toughest assignment in Southeast Asian football: Thailand at Rajamangala Stadium.

The first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final takes place in Bangkok on August 22, followed by the return leg at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi on August 26.

For Vietnam, there is little time between triumph and the next test.

The players were due to wake at 5 a.m. on August 20 and travel to Noi Bai International Airport for an 8:50 a.m. flight to Thailand.

They will have only two training sessions after arriving.

Kim wants three goals from Xuan Son

xuan son 5.JPG
Vietnam are preparing for another ASEAN Cup final against Thailand. Photo: S.N

Coach Kim Sang Sik was proud of how Vietnam performed against Malaysia, particularly after making five changes to his starting lineup.

“Compared with the first leg, the players performed much better at home,” Kim said after the match. "In particular, the tactical areas where we had shortcomings in the previous match were improved. After the first leg, we returned home with only one day to rest. We made changes in several positions to ensure the players were in the best possible physical condition.”

The Korean coach now faces another tight turnaround.

“Two years ago, I won the championship in Thailand with the players. Now we are in the final once again, and I feel very honored and extremely happy,” he said.“I watched  Thailand’s match. We travel to Thailand tomorrow and have only two days of rest. The most important thing now is helping the players recover as quickly as possible so they can perform well away from home.”

Kim also made clear what he hopes to see from semifinal hero Xuan Son.

“I hope Xuan Son scores three goals in the final,” he said.

The striker himself was more restrained.

Thailand, he acknowledged, will present a formidable challenge.

“The coaching staff will prepare the tactics for the team, and my job is to follow those tactics,” Xuan Son said. “It will be a big final. Thailand are a good team. What I need to do now is get myself into the best physical condition. Of course, I want to win the championship again.”

The coming final carries particular meaning for Xuan Son. He recalled suffering a broken leg two years earlier, but insisted his focus now is entirely on contributing to the team rather than sending messages to Vietnam’s rival.

A Southeast Asian record

Vietnam enter the final with more than a trophy at stake.

The victory over Malaysia extended Kim’s team to 24 consecutive matches without defeat, a national record under the Korean coach.

Across that run, Vietnam have won 21 matches and drawn three, scoring 63 goals and conceding only 10.

The unbeaten sequence dates back to a 1-1 draw with India on October 12, 2024. Vietnam’s last defeat came more than two years ago, in a 2-1 friendly loss to Thailand on September 10, 2024.

Vietnam won all eight of their matches in 2025.

That run included victories over Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Nepal. A 3-0 result against Malaysia was awarded by the AFC after Malaysia fielded seven naturalized players who were ruled ineligible.

Vietnam’s 2026 results have continued the momentum, with wins over Bangladesh, Malaysia, Myanmar, Timor-Leste, Indonesia and Cambodia, alongside a 0-0 draw with Singapore.

The two 2-0 semifinal victories over Malaysia have now pushed the unbeaten streak to 24.

It also takes Vietnam beyond Thailand’s previous Southeast Asian benchmark of 21 undefeated matches, set between December 4, 1995 and September 15, 1996, when the War Elephants recorded 16 wins and five draws.

The record can grow further in the final.

A third straight Vietnam-Thailand final

HLV Kim Sang Sik: Hy vọng Xuân Son ghi 3 bàn khi đấu Thái Lan

Coach Kim Sang Sik thanked Vietnam’s players and supporters after the semifinal victory. Photo: S.N

There could hardly be a more fitting opponent.

Vietnam and Thailand will meet in the ASEAN Cup final for the third consecutive tournament, following their title clashes in 2022 and 2024.

Thailand reached this year’s final by eliminating Singapore, while Vietnam swept aside Malaysia without conceding a goal over two legs.

The most recent final remains fresh in Vietnamese football memory. In 2024, Vietnam defeated Thailand 5-3 on aggregate and lifted the trophy at Rajamangala.

Malaysia coach Tan Cheng Hoe believes little separates the two sides this time.

“For the final between Vietnam and Thailand, I think both teams have their own advantages,” he said after Malaysia’s elimination. “In terms of their overall strength, the two teams are quite evenly matched.”

He wished both teams well and predicted an entertaining final.

Vietnam know they can still improve

The 4-0 aggregate semifinal scoreline suggests complete control, but Vietnam are not travelling to Bangkok believing everything went perfectly.

The most obvious concern is finishing.

Vietnam created a succession of chances against Malaysia, particularly during an excellent first half at My Dinh, yet could not score until Xuan Son entered.

The issue has appeared repeatedly during the tournament.

Against a better-organized Thailand side, chances may be considerably harder to come by.

Vietnam’s failure to put Malaysia away early also disrupted Kim’s plan to protect key players ahead of the final. Instead of resting his strongest options, he was forced to introduce Xuan Son and Tai Loc in the second half.

Vietnam also have one fewer day of recovery than Thailand and must travel immediately after the semifinal.

There were other warnings. Nguyen Hai Long’s challenge on Mohamadou Sumareh was an unnecessary risk that could have drawn a card. Against Thailand, Vietnam can afford few such lapses.

For all the dominance against Malaysia, the final demands another level of concentration.

$171,000 in bonuses - and potentially more

Vietnam’s semifinal success also brought another financial reward.

Immediately after the Malaysia match, Vietnam Football Federation President Tran Quoc Tuan went onto the pitch to congratulate the team and announced a VND1 billion bonus, equivalent to about $38,000.

That took the team’s accumulated bonuses at the tournament to VND4.5 billion, approximately $171,000: VND2 billion after the group stage, VND1.5 billion following the first-leg semifinal victory and another VND1 billion after securing the final berth.

That figure could rise further if Vietnam successfully defend their ASEAN Cup crown.

My Dinh prepares for the decisive night

The first leg will be played at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok on August 22.

The stadium, one of Thai football’s most recognizable venues, holds around 50,000 spectators and regularly hosts the national team’s biggest matches.

Four days later, the championship will be decided at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi.

Tickets for the August 26 second leg went on sale on August 20 in four categories: VND500,000, VND800,000, VND1.2 million and VND1.5 million - approximately $19, $30, $46 and $57, respectively.

Sales run exclusively through the Techcombank OneU app from 2 p.m. on August 20 until 8 p.m. on August 21, or until tickets sell out, with a maximum of four tickets per order.

Tickets are delivered by post, with buyers required to present the original citizen identification card or passport used for verification.

Those purchased before 11:59 p.m. on August 20 are scheduled for delivery from August 25, while later purchases are due to be delivered on August 26.

The two final legs are scheduled for:

August 22: Thailand vs Vietnam - Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok
August 26: Vietnam vs Thailand - My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi

Vietnam travel to Bangkok with less rest, another flight in their legs and an opponent eager for revenge.

But they also arrive as defending champions, unbeaten in 24 matches and fresh from a semifinal in which Malaysia failed to score against them over 180 minutes.

For Kim and his players, the celebrations can wait.

There are two matches left.

Dai Nam – Thien Binh – Duy Nguyen