How many teams will participate in the 2026 ASEAN Cup?

The 2026 ASEAN Cup, the Southeast Asian national football championship, will officially kick off on July 24 and will continue to feature a field of 10 teams in the final round.

This number remains unchanged from recent editions, as the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) continues to apply the format that has proven successful in previous tournaments.

The ten teams taking part in the tournament include Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Timor-Leste. Among them, Timor-Leste secured the final spot after defeating Brunei in the play-off round. With all ten representatives confirmed, the AFF divided the teams into two groups of five, each playing a round-robin format with home-and-away matches.

According to the draw results, Group A consists of defending champions Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, and Timor-Leste. Meanwhile, Group B includes Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Myanmar, and Laos. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, which will be contested in a two-legged format, followed by the same format for the final to determine the champion.

The 2026 ASEAN Cup also marks several notable new features. This is the first time the tournament will be held in the summer, instead of the traditional year-end period, in order to reduce scheduling conflicts with domestic leagues and club competitions. Additionally, the tournament carries the commercial name ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026 following the AFF's agreement with a new sponsor. The group stage will take place from July 24 to August 8, while the semi-finals and final will be held from August 15 to 26.

The Vietnam national team enters the tournament as the defending champions and is considered one of the top contenders for the title, alongside traditional rivals such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.