2026 ASEAN Championship
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 24 July – 26 August |
| Teams | 10 (from 1 sub-confederation) |
← 2024 2028 → | |
The 2026 ASEAN Championship, commonly referred to as ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026[1] for sponsorship reasons, or simply ASEAN Cup 2026, will be the 16th ASEAN Championship, the biennal international men's football championship of Southeast Asia organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and will be the 1st edition under the name ASEAN Hyundai Cup. The tournament will celebrate as the 30th anniversary of the competition.[2]
The event will be held in July and August on the summer season for the first time, instead of the traditional monsoon season near the year-end.[3][4]
Vietnam are the defending champions after winning the 2024 final against Thailand.
It precedes the inaugural 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup, first announced by FIFA in October 2025.[4]
Format
The 2026 ASEAN Championship will follow format since 2018. In the current format, the nine highest ranked teams would automatically qualify, with the 10th and 11th ranked teams playing a two-legged qualifiers. The 10 teams would be split in two groups of five and play a round robin system with each team playing two home and two away fixtures. The top two sides of each group will advance to the knockout stages consisting of two-legged semi-finals and finals.[5] Away goals rule would not be applied since the last edition.
Qualification
Nine teams automatically qualified to the ASEAN Championship final tournament. They were separated in respective pots, based on performance of the last two editions.
Brunei and East Timor, the two lowest-performing teams will play a two-legged qualifier to determine the 10th and final qualifier.
Qualified teams
| Team | Appearance | Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|
| Cambodia | 11th | Group stage (1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024) |
| Indonesia | 16th | Runners-up (2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2016, 2020) |
| Laos | 15th | Group stage (1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024) |
| Malaysia | 16th | Winners (2010) |
| Myanmar | 16th | Fourth place / Semi-finalists (2004, 2016) |
| Philippines | 15th | Semi-finalists (2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2024) |
| Singapore | 16th | Winners (1998, 2004, 2007, 2012) |
| Thailand | 16th | Winners (1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022) |
| Vietnam | 16th | Winners (2008, 2018, 2024) |
| To be determined ( Brunei or Timor-Leste; Qualification winner) |
3rd/5th | Group stage |
Draw
The draw took place on 15 January 2026 at RCTI+ studio in Jakarta, Indonesia at 16:00 UTC+7 (WIB).[6][7][8]
The pot placements followed each team's progress based on the two previous editions. If the results are equal, the most recent tournament will be given priority.
Defending champion, Vietnam were automatically placed in A1, while Thailand were placed in B1. Due to political tension between Thailand and Cambodia, the latter was automatically drawn to Group A.
At the time of the draw, the identity of the team that secured qualification was unknown and was automatically placed into Pot 5.
| Pots | Teams | 2024 | 2022 | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vietnam | 1 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Thailand | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | |
| 2 | Malaysia | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Singapore | 4 | 5 | 4.5 | |
| 3 | Philippines | 3 | 7 | 5 |
| Indonesia | 7 | 4 | 5.5 | |
| 4 | Cambodia | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Myanmar | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
| 5 | Laos | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| TBD |
Squads
Schedule
AFF announced the tournament schedule on 14 November 2025.[2]
The group stage will start from 24 July to 8 August. The knockout stage will take place from 15 to 26 August.[2]
| Group stage | Schedule Matchday
|
Group A | Group B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Matches | Date | Matches | ||
| Matchday 1 | 24 July 2026 | 4 v 2 5 v 1 |
25 July 2026 | 4 v 2 5 v 1 | |
| Matchday 2 | 27 July 2026 | 2 v 5 3 v 4 |
28 July 2026 | 2 v 5 3 v 4 | |
| Matchday 3 | 31 July 2026 | 5 v 3 1 v 2 |
1 August 2026 | 5 v 3 1 v 2 | |
| Matchday 4 | 3 August 2026 | 3 v 1 4 v 5 |
4 August 2026 | 3 v 1 4 v 5 | |
| Matchday 5 | 7 August 2026 | 1 v 4 2 v 3 |
8 August 2026 | 1 v 4 2 v 3 | |
| Knockout stage | Semi-finals | ||||
Schedule Leg(s)
|
Date | Matches | Date | Matches | |
| First leg | 15 August 2026 | A2 v B1 | 16 August 2026 | B2 v A1 | |
| Second leg | 18 August 2026 | B1 v A2 | 19 August 2026 | A1 v B2 | |
| Finals | |||||
Schedule Leg(s)
|
Date | Matches | |||
| First leg | 22 August 2026 | SF Winner 1 v SF Winner 2 | |||
| Second leg | 26 August 2026 | SF Winner 2 v SF Winner 1 | |||
Venues
To be announced
Group stage
| Tie-breaking criteria for group stage ranking |
|---|
The ranking of teams in each group is determined by the points obtained in all group matches. If two or more teams are equal on points, the following criteria are used to determine the ranking:
If, after having applied criteria a to c, teams still had an equal ranking, criteria a to c are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams who are still level to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria d to h apply.
|
Group winners and runners-up will advance to the semi-finals.
All times listed are local.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vietnam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Singapore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Indonesia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Cambodia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Qualification winner[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
- ^ The qualification winner will be Brunei or Timor-Leste.
| Qualification winner | v | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Qualification winner | v | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Cambodia | v | Qualification winner |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thailand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Malaysia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Philippines | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Myanmar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Laos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time (in the second leg), extra time is played (two periods of 15 minutes each). If still tied after extra time, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out.
As with every tournament since 2007 AFF Championship, there is no third place play-off.
All times listed are local
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| A2 | Runner-up Group A | |||||||||||
| B1 | Winner Group B | |||||||||||
| Winner semi-final 1 | ||||||||||||
| Winner semi-final 2 | ||||||||||||
| B2 | Runner-up Group B | |||||||||||
| A1 | Winner Group A | |||||||||||
Semi-finals
Summary
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up Group A | Winner Group B | 15 Aug | 18 Aug | |
| Runner-up Group B | Winner Group A | 16 Aug | 19 Aug |
Matches
Final
Summary
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner semi-final 1 | Winner semi-final 2 | 23 Aug | 26 Aug |
Matches
First leg
Second leg
Statistics
Winner
| 2026 ASEAN Championship |
|---|
Awards
| Best goalkeeper | MVP | Best young player | Top scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
Goalscorers
Discipline
In the tournament, a player will be suspended for the subsequent match in the competition for either getting red card or accumulating two yellow cards in two different matches.
| Player | Offense(s) | Suspension(s) |
|---|
Marketing
Official match ball
The tournament's official match ball, was unveiled on 23 January 2026.[10]
Sponsorship
| Title partner | Presenting partners | Official sponsors | Official performance partner |
|---|---|---|---|
|
See also
References
- ^ "HYUNDAI MOTOR NAMED NEW TITLE PARTNER OF THE ASEAN CHAMPIONSHIP, NOW KNOWN AS THE ASEAN HYUNDAI CUP™". aseanutdfc.com. ASEAN United FC. 14 November 2025. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
- ^ a b c "DATES CONFIRMED AS ASEAN HYUNDAI CUP™ CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2026". aseanutdfc.com. ASEAN United FC. 14 November 2025. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
- ^ tan, Gabriel (14 November 2025). "ASEAN Championship's 30th anniversary set for summer window next July-August". ESPN Asia. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Football's Asean Championship to be switched from year-end to July 24-Aug 26 in 2026". The Straits Times. 14 November 2025. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
- ^ "Asean Football Federation (AFF) And Mitsubishi Electric Launch New Brand Identity For Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ 2024". Mitsubishi Electric. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "ASEAN Championship draw set for Jan. 15 in Jakarta". ESPN.com. 18 December 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ "ASEAN NATIONAL TEAMS TO LEARN FATE FOR HYUNDAI CUP 2026 AT OFFICIAL DRAW ON JANUARY 15 IN JAKARTA". aseanutdfc.com. ASEAN United FC. 18 December 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ "WHERE TO WATCH THE HYUNDAI CUP™ 2026 OFFICIAL DRAW". aseanutdfc.com. ASEAN United FC. 13 January 2026. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
- ^ a b "Lions to play Asean Championship group matches at Jalan Besar instead of National Stadium because of NDP". Straits Times. 19 January 2026.
- ^ "ASEAN HYUNDAI CUP™ 2026 OFFICIAL MATCH BALL UNVEILED BY ASEAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION AND ADIDAS". aseanutdfc.com. ASEAN United FC. 14 August 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2026.