Not in the same group as the Vietnam national team, Malaysian media exclaims one thing

Malaysian media express confidence in surpassing the group stage of AFF Cup 2026 following the draw event.

This afternoon (January 15), the group draw ceremony for the Southeast Asian Football Championship – AFF Cup 2026 was held in the capital city of Jakarta (Indonesia). The event marked a special milestone celebrating 30 years since the establishment and development of the region’s biggest football tournament, starting from the first Tiger Cup held in 1996. Vietnam Football Federation President Trần Quốc Tuấn attended the ceremony in person.

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

In AFF Cup 2026, Vietnam and Malaysia will no longer face each other in the group stage as they have in many previous Southeast Asian tournaments like in 2025. Malaysian media view this draw as a great opportunity for their team to aim for a spot in the semifinals.

The New Straits Times wrote: "Malaysia aims for the AFF Cup semifinals after a favorable draw. Malaysia is likely to reach the AFF Cup semifinals, scheduled from July 24 to August 26, following a favorable draw. Malaysia, champions in 2010, have finished runners-up three times in 1996, 2014, and 2018. However, Harimau Malaya failed to advance beyond the group stage in 2020 and 2024, and were eliminated in the semifinals in 2022."

According to the competition format, the group stage of the ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026 will be played in a single round-robin format, home and away matches, 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 qualify for the semifinals. The semifinals and finals will continue with a two-legged format, held from August 15 to August 26, 2026.

After 15 editions, Thailand is the most successful team with 7 titles, followed by Singapore (4 times), Vietnam (3 times), and Malaysia (once). Vietnam is the current champion, having defeated Thailand with an aggregate score of 5-3 over two legs in the AFF Cup 2024 final, affirming Vietnam’s top status in Southeast Asian football.