The ASEAN Championship, now named the ASEAN Hyundai Cup™, is the jewel in the crown of ASEAN football, with 11 top ASEAN national teams battling for regional supremacy biennially. Since the ASEAN Championship’s inception in 1996, it has grown from a two-week-long centralised tournament into a competition that is played in a home-or-away format in the group stage, with home-and-away semi-final and final matches across Southeast Asia over four weeks.

The 2026 edition will be the 16th time the member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) will go head-to-head to claim the coveted title of Champions of ASEAN in this biennial regional competition since the inaugural championship was contested in Singapore in 1996.

The 10-nation Group Stage of Hyundai Cup™ 2026 will commence on July 24 and run until August 8, with matches to be played in a single round-robin format throughout the region. The home-and-away Knockout Rounds will commence on August 15 and conclude on August 26.

At the Official Draw for the Hyundai Cup™ 2026, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will be drawn into two groups for the group stage. Brunei Darussalam and Timor Leste which will play-off in a Qualifying Round for the 10th place in the competition, will be drawn to determine the host of each home-and-away match.  

 

 

THE ASEAN HYUNDAI CUP™ 2026 PARTICIPATING NATIONS

 

 

Brunei Darussalam
Brunei Darussalam’s appearance in the group phase of the ASEAN Championship in 2022 marked the first time they had qualified for the tournament since the inaugural event in 1996. They narrowly missed out on qualification in 2024 after a 1–0 aggregate loss to Timor-Leste in a play-off.

Cambodia
Cambodia have made 10 appearances in the ASEAN Championship and, while they have yet to advance to the knock-out rounds, they have made progress in recent years. The Angkor Warriors recorded wins against the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam to finish third in their group in 2022 and held Malaysia to a 2–2 draw in 2024 as they went close to a runner-up finish in their group.

Indonesia
Indonesia’s place among the elite of Southeast Asian football is undisputed, but the region’s most populous nation has yet to win the ASEAN Championship in 15 previous attempts. They have been runners-up on six occasions, the most recent in 2020, with that record including three consecutive second-place finishes in 2000, 2002 and 2004. The others came in 2010 and 2016.

Laos
While Laos have appeared in all but one of the previous 15 editions of the ASEAN Championship, they have yet to progress past the group stage. However, Thim Xad have often proven to be tricky opponents, as was the case in 2024 when they held Indonesia and the Philippines to draws and went close to a win against Myanmar before conceding two late goals in a 3–2 defeat.

Malaysia
Malaysia have won the ASEAN Championship once, in 2010, with victory over Indonesia in the final as K. Rajagopal’s side ended the nation’s frustrations at regional level. The Malaysians have twice gone close to reclaiming the title, finishing as runners-up in 2014 and 2018 before being eliminated in the semi-finals in 2022. They were also runners-up in the inaugural edition in 1996, losing to Thailand in the final.

Myanmar
Myanmar have reached the knock-out rounds of the ASEAN Championship on two occasions with runs to the semi-finals in 2004 and 2016, when they bowed out to the eventual champions Singapore and Thailand respectively. They were in position to reach the last four again in 2024 after a draw with the Philippines and a dramatic comeback win against Laos, but bowed out after a defeat to Vietnam in their last group game.

Philippines
Since they reached the last four of the ASEAN Championship for the first time in 2010, the Philippines have appeared in the knock-out rounds in five of the last eight tournaments. They advanced to the semi-finals in 2024 after a 1–0 win in Indonesia and beat Thailand 2–1 in the first leg of their semi-final before bowing out 4–3 on aggregate after a dramatic extra-time encounter in Bangkok.

Singapore
Singapore are the second-most successful team in the ASEAN Championship with four titles, the first coming after a win over Vietnam in Hanoi in 1998 and the other three following in 2004, 2007 and 2012 under the guidance of head coach Radojko Avramović. While the Lions’ fortunes have waned in recent years, they made it to the semi-finals in 2024 before being eliminated by eventual champions Vietnam.

Thailand
Thailand have been the dominant force in Southeast Asian football over the past three decades, winning the inaugural ASEAN Championship in 1996 and six further titles in 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020 and 2022. The War Elephants reached the final for a record 11th time in 2024 but missed out on an unprecedented eighth regional title after they were beaten 5–3 on aggregate by Vietnam.

Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste made their ASEAN Championship debut in 2004 but went out in the qualifying rounds in the next six tournaments before securing a place in the group stage in three of the last four editions. While they have yet to avoid defeat in the group phase, they nearly picked up their first points in 2024 when they frustrated Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia for long periods before losing to late goals.

Vietnam
Vietnam were crowned ASEAN champions for the third time in 2024 when they defeated Thailand 5–3 on aggregate in the final, exacting revenge on the defending champions who had beaten them in the 2022 final. The Golden Star Warriors claimed their first success in 2008 when Lê Công Vinh’s stoppage-time strike secured victory against Thailand and regained the title in 2018 by beating Malaysia 3–2 on aggregate.