The clock is ticking towards the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ 2024 with just one month to go until Southeast Asia’s flagship football tournament gets underway on 8 December.
The competition will be the 15th edition of the ASEAN Championship, which first took place in Singapore in 1996 and was won by a Kiatisuk ‘Zico’ Senamuang-inspired Thailand.
Since then, the War Elephants have gone on to win a total of seven titles, including four of the past five editions, with the 2022 Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ their most recent success.
Under Japanese tactician Masatada Ishii, Thailand will go into the highly anticipated 2024 edition looking to add a record-extending eighth title and they’ll begin their Group A campaign against Timor-Leste on 8 December.
Ishii’s side are sure to have plenty of challengers to take their crown with former winners Singapore and Malaysia also in their group, alongside Cambodia and the Timorese.
The Singaporeans are the ASEAN Championship’s second most successful side having lifted the trophy four times, most recently in 2012, and their crunch clash with Causeway Derby rivals and 2010 winners Malaysia, on 20 December, is among the games to look out for in Group A.
Group B is looking equally as enticing with two-time winners Vietnam and six-time finalists Indonesia set to face off on 15 December in a repeat of the 2022 semi-final which the Vietnamese won.
Vietnam, under Korean tactician Kim Sang-sik who took over from the long-serving Park Hang-seo after the 2022 final, will be looking to make up for that disappointment while another head coach from Korea Republic, Shin Tae-yong, is aiming to end the Garuda’s long wait for that elusive first title.
Four-time semi-finalists the Philippines, as well as Myanmar and Laos, are the three other teams in Group B who will be looking to stop the two ASEAN powerhouses from claiming the top two spots and progressing to the semi-finals.
As always, the Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ is sure to feature some of Southeast Asia’s finest players and showcase the brightest up-and-coming talents.
The likes of Kiatisuk, Le Cong Vinh, Safee Sali, Shahril Ishak, Khairul Amri, Chanathip Songkrasin, Nguyen Quang Hai and Theerathon Bunmathan are among the star names to have lit up the ASEAN Championship over the years and more are sure to emerge in the upcoming campaign.
Can Thailand lift the title for an eighth time, or will it be Indonesia for the first time? Do any of the former winners have what it takes to return to the summit, and who is likely to spring a surprise along the way?
The stage is set for an exhilarating Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ 2024. See you there!
Share now
