HÀ NỘI — The draw for the 2026 ASEAN Cup will take place on January 15 in Jakarta, Indonesia, commemorating the tournament's 30th anniversary since its inception in 1996.

As defending champions, the Vietnamese national team will be one of the two seeded teams in Group 1. The other seeded team are likely to be Thailand, who were the runners-up in the 2024 ASEAN Cup. 

Thailand were also Việt Nam's opponent in the finals of the last two tournaments. In 2022, Việt Nam lost to Thailand over two legs in the final with a total score of 2-3. But two years later, Việt Nam defeated them with a score of 5-3.

In the 2026 ASEAN Cup, 10 Southeast Asian teams will be divided into two groups of five, competing in a round-robin format during the group stage. 

Matches will be played on a home-and-away schedule, with each team facing two home and two away matches. The venue for each match will depend on the draw results.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals. From that point onwards, teams will compete in a knockout format over two legs, with matches played at home and away.

This year's timing of the ASEAN Cup has changed significantly compared to previous editions. Instead of being held at the end of each even-numbered year, the 2026 ASEAN Cup will take place in the middle of the year, from July 24 to August 26. 

The timing coincides with the summer break for most major football leagues around the world, making it highly likely that top stars from Indonesia, Thailand and other countries playing in Europe and Japan will have the opportunity to represent their national teams in the ASEAN Cup. — VNS