Cong Vinh predicts Indonesia and Vietnam to reach the AFF Cup semifinals

Legendary player Le Cong Vinh shared his forecast regarding Vietnam's group in the AFF Cup 2026.

On the afternoon of January 15th, in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, the draw ceremony for the Southeast Asian Football Championship – AFF Cup 2026 officially took place. This edition marks a special milestone celebrating 30 years of the region's biggest football tournament. The event featured the presence of VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan alongside Vietnamese football legend Le Cong Vinh as an honored guest.

The draw results placed the Vietnam national team in Group A alongside their long-standing rival Indonesia. The other teams in this group include Singapore, Cambodia, and the winner of the playoff between Brunei and Timor Leste. Meanwhile, Group B is considered quite tough with the defending champion Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Laos.

Based on the ASEAN Cup 2024 championship results, Vietnam and Thailand were seeded in the top pot, allowing the two strongest regional teams to avoid facing each other early. Commenting on this outcome, former striker Le Cong Vinh told the media:

"This is a good group; in my opinion, Indonesia is much stronger now. First of all, I believe Indonesia and Vietnam will make it to the semifinals". He also nostalgically recalled past glorious memories: "I am very happy, not only for myself but for the entire team and the country. I am proud because that was our first trophy".

Regarding the competition format, AFF Cup 2026 will continue with a single round-robin group stage (each team plays 2 home and 2 away matches). The group stage will take place from July 24 to August 8, 2026. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals. The semifinals and finals will maintain the home-and-away format, scheduled from August 15 to August 26, 2026.

Group A’s inclusion of Indonesia – a team rapidly progressing thanks to its naturalization policy – promises intense confrontations. However, as the reigning champions of the most recent tournament, Vietnam is fully confident in their ability to advance as group leaders to defend their title in the 30th anniversary edition.