Specifically, the draw for the 2026 AFF Cup will take place on January 15th in Jakarta, Indonesia, just one day before the quarter-finals of the AFC U23 Championship currently being held in Saudi Arabia.
As the defending champions, the Vietnamese team is highly likely to be in the top seed group of this tournament. The other team in the top seed group could be the defending runner-up, Thailand.
Xuan Son will join the Vietnamese national team to defend their AFF Cup title in the middle of this year (Photo: Manh Quan).
To date, after 15 editions, Thailand holds the record for most AFF Cup titles, with 7 wins (1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020, and 2024). Singapore ranks next in terms of titles, with 4 wins (1998, 2004, 2007, and 2012).
The Vietnamese national team has won the AFF Cup three times, in 2008, 2018, and 2024. However, we have never won the AFF Cup twice in a row. Therefore, at the 2026 AFF Cup, coach Kim Sang Sik's team is determined to achieve this.
Another team that has won the AFF Cup is Malaysia. The team, nicknamed Harimau Malaya, won the tournament in 2010.
Indonesia, a strong football nation in the region, has never won the Southeast Asian Championship. Indonesia has reached the finals six times (2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2016, and 2020), but they lost all six times.
Will Dinh Bac be added to the Vietnamese national team for the 2026 AFF Cup? (Photo: Khoa Nguyen).
Even more unfortunately, Indonesia reached the AFF Cup final three times in a row, in 2000, 2002, and 2004, but lost all three times, including two losses to Thailand and one loss to Singapore.
To date, the Indonesian national team has a perfect losing record in AFF Cup finals: 100%. Conversely, Singapore has a perfect winning record in all the finals they have participated in: 100%.
The AFF Cup 2026 is scheduled to take place from July 24th to August 26th. At that time, national leagues in Europe will still be in their summer break, so Indonesia is likely to make significant changes to its squad compared to the 2024 AFF Cup. Many of the Indonesian players of Dutch origin currently playing in Europe will likely participate in the tournament.
The Vietnamese national team may also undergo significant changes compared to the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying campaign that took place last year. Naturalized stars of domestic football such as Nguyen Xuan Son, Nguyen Hoang Hen (formerly Henrio), and Do Phi Long (formerly Gustavo Santos) could participate in the 2026 AFF Cup.
The Thai national team has a new head coach, Anthony Hudson (from England), replacing Masatada Ishii (from Japan), who lost to Vietnam in the 2024 AFF Cup final.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/xac-dinh-thoi-diem-boc-tham-aff-cup-2026-20260111135923975.htm
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