As many as seven Southeast Asian nations were in action in the October international window with the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ now less than two months away from kick-off.
Thailand emerged victorious in the 50th edition of the prestigious King’s Cup held in Songkhla this week after beating Syria 2-1 in the final while Indonesia had a disappointing couple of fixtures away from home in the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Malaysia also had a window to forget, with Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar also keeping themselves busy ahead of December’s showpiece event. ASEAN United FC provides a roundup of everything that occurred in the last week or so.
Chanathip runs the show for Thailand
It feels as if Chanathip Songkrasin is getting back to his very best, scoring his first international goals in almost three years in the 3-1 win against the Philippines in the King’s Cup semi-finals on Friday, with Suphanat Mueanta netting a brace, which took Thailand to the final against Syria.
In front of a packed Tinsulanon Stadium in Songkhla on Monday, Ekanit Panya opened the scoring before Alessio Ham equalised for the Syrians. And then in the 91st minute, Chanathip saved his best for the last, unleashing a first-time rocket from the edge of the box, captaining his nation to their 16th King’s Cup crown.
Meanwhile, newly appointed Philippines head coach Albert Capellas tasted victory for the first time in the third-place match as they comfortably saw off the challenge of Tajikistan 3-0 courtesy of second-half goals from Gerrit Holtmann, Jefferson Tabinas and Zico Bailey.
Indonesia fall off the pace in Road to 26
Shin Tae-yong’s Indonesia had started their third-round qualification campaign for the FIFA World Cup 2026 with impressive draws against Saudi Arabia and Australia and thought they had their first win when Ragnar Oratmangoen and Rafael Struick’s goals gave them a 2-1 lead away in Bahrain last Thursday.
However, a controversy-marred final few minutes saw Mohamed Marhoon grab a late equaliser deep into added time with Team Garuda once again having to be content with a point.
Five days later, they couldn’t recover from the shock as Thom Haye’s 86th-minute goal proved to be a consolation in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of China PR in Qingdao, meaning that Indonesia sit in fifth place in Group C with three points from four matches.
Van Quyet retires from international football
One of the most prolific forwards in Vietnamese football, Nguyen Van Quyet brought an end to his international career after the Golden Star Warriors’ 1-1 draw against India at Nam Dinh Stadium on Saturday.
Bui Vi Hao gave Vietnam the lead but Farukh Choudhary’s leveller meant the game finished in a draw with Van Quyet soon after announcing his decision to step aside from national team duty.
The Hanoi FC stalwart is currently the fifth-highest goalscorer for Vietnam and has twice been awarded the Vietnamese Footballer of the Year award.
Malaysia suffer heavy defeat in New Zealand
Malaysia had an outing to forget after making the long trip to the North Harbour Stadium only to suffer a 4-0 loss versus New Zealand on Monday, October 14.
It marked interim head coach Pau Marti Vicente’s first defeat since taking over after the resignation of Kim Pan-gon in July. The Harimau Malaya’s next challenge will again be away from home in India, with the match scheduled to take place on November 19.
Ratanak shines for Cambodia
Cambodia had a mixed international window with PKR Svay Rieng FC’s Min Ratanak scoring a double including the winner in a 3-2 success against Chinese Taipei at Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium on Friday.
This was followed by a trip to Hong Kong four days later where they suffered a comprehensive 3-0 loss at Hong Kong Stadium on Tuesday.
Myo Hlaing Win era begins for Myanmar
Myanmar national football team’s all-time top-scorer Myo Hlaing Win’s tenure as the new head coach of the team got underway with a pair of matches against Sri Lanka in Yangon.
A 0-0 draw was preceded by a 2-0 win three days earlier on October 10 with Lwin Moe Aung and Maung Maung Lwin scoring in either half to give their new man at the helm a winning start in their preparations for the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup.
Photo: Changsuek
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