FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026: Thailand Aims for the Championship Title, While Vietnam is Full of Enthusiasm

Thailand's national football team enters the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 hosted in Indonesia with the tournament title as their official target. Meanwhile, Vietnam arrives carrying high enthusiasm to compete in the very first edition of this FIFA-sanctioned regional tournament.

Thailand national team head coach Anthony Hudson reaffirmed his squad's goal shortly after the delegation landed in Indonesia on Wednesday, 23 September. For Hudson, Thailand did not travel here just to participate as mere tournament participants.

“We want to win this. That is our target,” stated Hudson upon arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta.

Hudson laid out this ambition while acknowledging the tournament will feature a significantly higher competitive standard. He noted the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 differs from all previous AFF tournaments, as every participating nation has called up their full first-choice senior squads.

“I think the level of this tournament is clearly much higher, because every team is bringing their main players. During the last AFF tournament, we did not bring our core first team,” Hudson explained.

After clearing arrivals at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the Thailand delegation immediately continued their journey to Bandung via the Whoosh high-speed train. The city will serve as Thailand's base camp for all Division 1 Group B fixtures.

Physical recovery is the immediate priority for the squad ahead of their opening match. Hudson is working to return all players to peak condition as quickly as possible to face the group stage challenges.

“We have just arrived in Indonesia and we are really excited to play our first match. We need to recover properly and prepare for that opening game, but the entire squad is very eager to get started,” Hudson said.

Thailand are drawn in Division 1 Group B alongside Vietnam, the Philippines and Pakistan. Reviewing this group line-up, Hudson acknowledged that progressing to the next tournament phase will not be easy.

The English head coach also named Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore as strong contenders that will make the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 a tightly contested tournament. Nevertheless, Hudson stressed he will not look ahead beyond the opening match for now.

“There are a lot of very good sides here: Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore among them. There are so many strong teams, this will be an extremely competitive tournament. But right now, we are only focused on our first match,” Hudson said.

Vietnam Arrives With High Enthusiasm

On the other side of the group, Vietnam also touched down in Indonesia on Wednesday 23 September carrying their own positive energy. Vietnamese defender Jason Quang-Vinh Pendant spoke of his excitement for the new tournament shortly after his squad landed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

“This is a brand new tournament, the very first edition. We are all so excited to compete here. This tournament is organised by FIFA, so I hope everything runs smoothly and we receive great support from football fans across every nation,” he told reporters at the airport.

After clearing arrivals, the Vietnam delegation travelled onwards to Bandung by bus. Bandung will also serve as their official base camp for the entire Division 1 Group B campaign.

Vietnam's opening fixture is scheduled against the Philippines at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium, Bandung on 26 September 2026. They will then face Thailand on 29 September, before closing their group stage against Pakistan on 2 October, with all three matches hosted at the same venue.

Jason acknowledged that Vietnam will face stiff competition from the very first whistle. He noted that the squad quality across every participating nation means full concentration will be required for every minute of match time.

“We will give everything we have to win this group,” he stated.

Vietnam enters this tournament with strong existing confidence: the side most recently lifted the 2026 AFF Cup title, defeating Thailand 4-2 on aggregate in the final.

This victory saw Vietnam successfully retain their regional championship crown, and the squad are now looking to carry that winning momentum into the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup.

Thailand enters the tournament with the same end goal, albeit from a very different context. Hudson has set an outright tournament victory as his squad's target, while Vietnam are looking to mark the start of this new era for ASEAN football with their best possible performance.

The upcoming Group B meeting between Thailand and Vietnam on 29 September is already shaping up to be one of the most high-stakes fixtures of the group stage. Before that marquee clash however, both sides must first navigate their opening matches, and manage player fitness carefully across the full tournament schedule.