Indonesian media: 'The Vietnam team always performs poorly after each ASEAN championship victory!'

Indonesian outlets argue that Vietnam's greatest test at the 2026 ASEAN Cup lies not in rival teams, but in their historical inability to retain the championship.

With less than two months remaining, the 2026 ASEAN Cup will officially begin, and Vietnam enters the tournament as the defending champion. However, Indonesia's Kompas newspaper is not very optimistic about the ability of Coach Kim Sang-sik and his players to claim the title again.

In an article titled "Vietnam wants to break its poor record at the 2026 ASEAN Cup, but Indonesia is a formidable opponent,"reporter Ahmad Yasin argues that history is working against the Vietnam national team.

"Vietnam is facing a new challenge: defending the championship. For them, this is considered much tougher than their first triumph in 2008. In the tournament's history, Vietnam has never occupied the top spot for two consecutive years.", Kompas newspaper commented.

In fact, statistics show that this observation is not groundless. After winning the 2008 AFF Cup, Vietnam only reached the semifinals in 2010. The same scenario repeated after their 2018 victory, when the "Golden Star Warriors" were eliminated in the semifinals of the 2021 AFF Cup.

"After winning the title in 2008, they only made it to the semifinals in 2010. A similar situation occurred after the 2018 champions were knocked out in the semifinals of the 2021 tournament," wrote Kompas.

According to the newspaper from the archipelago nation, the 2026 ASEAN Cup will be an opportunity for Coach Kim Sang-sik to break the long-standing curse of Vietnamese football.. However, this mission is considered far from easy, as Group A features Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, and the winner of the playoff between Brunei and Timor-Leste.

In particular, Indonesian media believe their team is capable of creating major difficulties for Vietnam. "Indonesia is seen as a threat to Vietnam. The development of the Indonesian national team has drawn attention because of the naturalization policy for players of mixed heritage in recent years,", Kompas emphasized.

Nevertheless, Vietnam also has reasons to be confident as they begin their title defense. After winning the 2024 ASEAN Cup with a 5-3 aggregate victory over Thailand in the final, Coach Kim Sang-sik's squad has won all of their last eight matches, including friendlies and Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.

Moreover, the latest FIFA ranking also highlights Vietnam's strong progress. With 1,225.68 points, the team climbed nine places to return to 99th in the world, and became the team with the biggest rise during the recent FIFA Days.

The 2026 ASEAN Cup runs from July 24 to August 26, and Vietnam is undoubtedly one of the top contenders for the title. However, as Indonesian media have noted, to successfully defend the crown, Coach Kim Sang-sik and his players must first overcome the curse that has haunted the team for nearly two decades.