2026 ASEAN Championship |
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| Dates | 24 July – 26 August[1] |
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| Teams | 10 (from 1 sub-confederation) |
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The 2026 ASEAN Championship, commonly referred to as ASEAN Hyundai Cup™ 2026[2] for sponsorship reasons, or simply ASEAN Cup 2026, will be the 16th ASEAN Championship, the biennal international men's football championship of Southeast Asia organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and will be the 1st edition under the name ASEAN HYUNDAI CUP™. The tournament will celebrate as the 30th anniversary of the competition.[1]
The event will be held in July and August on the summer season for the first time, instead of the traditional monsoon season near the year-end.[3][4]
It remains unclear how the FIFA ASEAN Cup announced in October 2025 would relate to the ASEAN Championship.[4]
Vietnam are the defending champions after winning the 2024 final against Thailand.
The 2026 ASEAN Championship will follow format since 2018. In the current format, the nine highest ranked teams would automatically qualify, with the 10th and 11th ranked teams playing a two-legged qualifiers. The 10 teams would be split in two groups of five and play a round robin system with each team playing two home and two away fixtures. The top two sides of each group will advance to the knockout stages consisting of two-legged semi-finals and finals.[5] Away goals rule would not be applied for the first time since the last edition.
Qualification
Nine teams automatically qualified to the ASEAN Championship final tournament. They were separated in respective pots, based on performance of the last two editions.
Brunei and East Timor, the two lowest-performing teams will play a two-legged qualifier to determine the 10th and final qualifier.
Qualified teams
| Team
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Appearance
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Previous best performance
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| Cambodia
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11th
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Group stage (1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024)
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| Indonesia
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16th
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Runners-up (2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2016, 2020)
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| Laos
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15th
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Group stage (1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024)
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| Malaysia
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16th
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Winners (2010)
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| Myanmar
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16th
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Fourth place / Semi-finalists (2004, 2016)
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| Philippines
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15th
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Semi-finalists (2010, 2012, 2014, 2018)
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| Singapore
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16th
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Winners (1998, 2004, 2007, 2012)
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| Thailand
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16th
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Winners (1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022)
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| Vietnam
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16th
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Winners (2008, 2018, 2024)
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| Qualification winner
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3rd/5th
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Group stage
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Draw
The draw will take place on 15 January 2026 at RCTI+ studio in Jakarta, Indonesia at 11:00 UTC+7 (WIB).[6][7]
The pot placements followed each team's progress based on the two previous editions. If the results are equal, the most recent tournament will be given priority.
At the time of the draw, the identity of the team that secured qualification was unknown and was automatically placed into Pot 5.
Match schedule
AFF announced the tournament schedule on 14 November 2025. The exact times and dates will be confirmed following the final draw.[1]
The group stage will start from 24 July to 8 August. The knockout stage will take place from 15 August to 26 August.[1]
Group stage
| Tie-breaking criteria for group stage ranking
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The ranking of teams in each group is determined by the points obtained in all group matches. If two or more teams are equal on points, the following criteria are used to determine the ranking:
- Most points obtained in the group matches played between the teams concerned;
- Superior goal difference in the group matches played between the teams concerned;
- Most goals scored in the group matches played between the teams concerned;
If, after having applied criteria a to c, teams still had an equal ranking, criteria a to c are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams who are still level to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria d to h apply.
- Superior goal difference in all group matches;
- Most goals scored in all group matches;
- Highest team conduct ("fair play") score in all group matches (only one deduction can be applied to a player or team coach/official in a single match):
- Yellow card: −1 point;
- Indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
- Direct red card: −4 points;
- Yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
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Group winners and runners-up will advance to the semi-finals.
Group A
| Pos
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Team
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Pld
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W
|
D
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L
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GF
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GA
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GD
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Pts
|
Qualification
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| 1
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A1
|
0
|
0
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0
|
0
|
0
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0
|
0
|
0
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Advance to knockout stage
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| 2
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A2
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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| 3
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A3
|
0
|
0
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0
|
0
|
0
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0
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0
|
0
|
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| 4
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A4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
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| 5
|
A5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
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First match(es) will be played: 24 July 2026. Source: ASEAN United FC
Group B
| Pos
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Team
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Pld
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W
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D
|
L
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GF
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GA
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GD
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Pts
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Qualification
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| 1
|
B1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
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Advance to knockout stage
|
| 2
|
B2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
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| 3
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B3
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0
|
0
|
0
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0
|
0
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0
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0
|
0
|
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| 4
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B4
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0
|
0
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0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
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| 5
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B5
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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First match(es) will be played: 25 July 2026. Source: ASEAN United FC
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time is played (two periods of 15 minutes each). If still tied after extra time, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out.
As with every tournament since 2007 AFF Championship, there is no third place play-off.
Bracket
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| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Semi-finals | | | Final |
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| | |
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| A2 | Runner-up Group A | | | |
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| B1 | Winner Group B | | |
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| | | | Winner semi-final 1 | | | |
| | | |
| | | | Winner semi-final 2 | | |
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| B2 | Runner-up Group B | | | | | |
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| A1 | Winner Group A | | |
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| | | |
Semi-finals
Summary
Matches
Final
Summary
Matches
First leg
Second leg
Marketing
| Title partner
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Presenting partners
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Official sponsors
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Official performance partner
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See also
References
External links
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