Vietnam's all-time leading striker attends AFF Cup draw ceremony

Along with VFF Chairman Trần Quốc Tuấn, the famous player Lê Công Vinh was present at the AFF Cup 2026 group draw ceremony.

This afternoon (January 15), the group draw for the Southeast Asian Football Championship – AFF Cup 2026 took place in the capital city of Jakarta, Indonesia. The event marked a special milestone celebrating 30 years since the establishment and growth of the region's biggest football tournament, starting from the first Tiger Cup held in 1996. VFF President Trần Quốc Tuấn personally attended the ceremony, accompanied by the legendary former Vietnam national team striker Lê Công Vinh.

AFF Cup 2026 will feature 10 Southeast Asian national teams. Nine teams including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are divided into two groups for the final stage. The remaining spot will be decided through a play-off between Brunei Darussalam and Timor Leste.

The seeding was based on the average performance from the last two tournaments. Accordingly, Vietnam and Thailand – champions and runners-up of the 2024 ASEAN Cup respectively – were placed in pot 1 and separated into different groups. Pot 2 includes Malaysia and Singapore; pot 3 contains the Philippines and Indonesia; pot 4 has Cambodia and Myanmar; while pot 5 consists of Laos and the winner of the play-off between Brunei Darussalam and Timor Leste.

The draw placed Vietnam in Group A alongside opponents Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, and the winner of the play-off between Brunei Darussalam and Timor Leste. Group B consists of Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Laos.

According to the competition format, the group stage of the ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026 will be played in a single round-robin home-and-away format, with each team playing four matches (two home, two away) from July 24 to August 8, 2026. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals. The semifinals and finals will continue in a two-legged home-and-away format, held from August 15 to August 26, 2026.

After 15 editions, Thailand remains the most successful team with 7 titles, followed by Singapore (4), Vietnam (3), and Malaysia (1). Vietnam currently holds the championship title, having defeated Thailand with an aggregate score of 5-3 over two legs in the 2024 ASEAN Cup final, solidifying Vietnam's leading position in Southeast Asian football.