Thailand moved to the summit of Group B of the Asean Hyundai Cup 2026 on Saturday night (Aug 1) as goals from Yotsakon Burapha and Teerasak Poeiphimai earned Anthony Hudson’s side a 2-0 win over Malaysia in Bangkok while the Philippines handed 10-man Laos a 4-1 loss.
Yotsakon broke the deadlock from the penalty spot seven minutes before the interval and Teerasak added the second in the 56th minute to secure Thailand’s second win in the group after starting their campaign with a 5-0 victory over Laos last week.
The result takes the War Elephants onto six points from two matches and ahead of the Malaysians on goal difference. Malaysia, who have played three times, sit in second ahead of Myanmar and the Philippines, with Laos in fifth.
"I thought for large spells of the game, we played some really good football. Just very proud of the players for another clean sheet. We got another result. I think they (Malaysia) are a dangerous team. They're a complicated team to play against," said Hudson.
Ubaidullah Shamsul’s clumsy clash with Kakana Khamyok allowed Thailand to open the scoring with referee Kim Woo-sung awarding a penalty after viewing the pitch-side monitor and Yotsakon dispatched with confidence for his second goal of the tournament.
Thailand’s second came 11 minutes into the second half with Yotsakon again involved, the forward laying off possession to Worachit Kanitsribumphen and he found Teerasak in position to bend his shot into the top corner.
Home goalkeeper Kampon Phatomakkakul then denied Faris Danish, Paulo Josué and Daryl Sham in the dying minutes to safeguard Thailand’s lead and help his side to the top of the standings. Thailand are seven-time champions of the Asean Hyundai Cup.
The Philippines, meanwhile, needed a second-half rally to pick up their first win in Group B when Carles Cuadrat’s side battled back from a goal down against Laos.
Damoth Thongkhamsavath had given the hosts a seventh-minute lead when goalkeeper Quincy Kammeraad fumbled the ball over his own line, but Phetdavanh Somsanid’s 14th-minute red card undermined Laos and the Philippines eventually took advantage.
John Lucero levelled two minutes into the second half before an own goal by Viengxay Sydavong five minutes later gave the Philippines the lead for the first time.
A 60th-minute Jarvey Gayoso penalty after Phoutthavong Sangvilay was judged to have handled in the area extended the Philippines’ lead while Daisuke Sato’s header two minutes from time sealed the visitors’ first win of the tournament.
“After the goal we conceded, we were able to come back,” said Kenji Nishioka, who set up Sato to score the Philippines’ fourth with a cross from the left. “We were able to fix the things that we needed to fix.
“In the second half, we used the space between the opponents, so we got into nice areas, but those were areas that we maximised so that we could break through the defence line of Laos.”
The Hyundai Player of the Match award winners are:
Laos (LAO) v Philippines (PHI) – Cole Mrowka (#17), Philippines
Thailand (THA) v Malaysia (MAS) – Sarach Yooyen (#6), Thailand
