JAKARTA: Reigning champions Vietnam will discover their 2026 Hyundai Cup Group Stage opponents in Jakarta on Thursday (Jan 15) when the Official Draw for the 30th anniversary edition of the regional championship is conducted at Official Broadcast Partner MNC’s Studio RCTI+ in the Indonesian capital.
Kim Sang-sik’s side defeated seven-times champions Thailand in the 2024 Asean Championship final and will be looking to add a fourth title to the nation’s haul when the group phase of the tournament kicks off in July.
Eleven nations from across South-East Asia will participate in the biennial competition, with Brunei and Timor-Leste facing off in a home-and-away playoff in June to determine who will advance to the 10-team Group Stage.
Group Stage matches will begin on July 24 and run until August 8, with matches played on a home-or-away format.
The top two finishers in each five-nation group will meet in the home-and-away semi-finals, which begin on August 15, with the two-legged final to be played on August 22 and 26.
Hyundai Cup 2026 will be the 16 th edition of the Asean Championship, which was launched in Singapore in 1996 with the inaugural competition won by Thailand, and is regarded as the jewel in the crown of Asean football.
Only four teams from the 11-member Asean bloc has won the championship to date. Thailand leads the way with seven titles, followed by Singapore (four titles), Vietnam (three), and Malaysia (one).
Football fans in Malaysia can watch the draw live on Astro Arena channel and also at @ASEANUTDFC / FACEBOOK; YOUTUBE.
