The 2024 ASEAN Championship has just ended the group phase, with two groups of five playing in a single round-robin format with two home and two away games to decide which teams will finish in the top two and advance. Here are some thoughts from the group phase of the tournament.
Indonesia’s half-experimental team a total flop
Indonesia are Australia’s upcoming opponents in March next year and, after a lacklustre ASEAN Championship group stage, the Indonesians have reason not to bring their best names. Still, Shin Tae-yong decided to inject several key members of the 2026 WCQ campaign.
Indonesia’s performances have been a disappointment. An embarrassing 3-3 draw at home to Laos, the weakest team in the group, coupled with a surprise 1-0 loss to the Philippines, sealed their fate. Garuda’s only win was against Myanmar away, but it took an own goal to achieve it. What made it more surprising was the subpar performance of the team’s senior members. Marselino Ferdinan, whose goals downed Saudi Arabia in Jakarta not long ago, was one of the team’s worst performers and even received a red. Asnawi Mangkualam also proved unable to vindicate his captaincy like the time in the Asian Cup earlier. Rafael Struick, Hokky Caraka and Pratama Arhan also struggled to adjust. Muhammad Ferrari, another youngster nurtured by Shin himself, also got a red against the Philippines, contributing to Indonesia’s defeat. The fact that Indonesia haven’t won a single title in Southeast Asia despite reaching the final six times says a lot.
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While Shin will value these experiments, the unconvincing form of several regulars in this squad poses a major risk, and represents an opportunity for the Socceroos. No doubt other Indonesian regulars like Jay Idzes, Kevin Diks, Maarten Paes, Thom Haye, Sandy Walsh, Egy Maulana, Witan Sulaeman, etc, are also equally dangerous; yet Shin’s team weak points, the poor connection between these regulars and inability to capitalise in the final third on several occasions, have been repeated. If the Socceroos can cut off communication between Indonesian players in the crucial March qualifiers, the Socceroos may reignite their hopes after a series of subpar displays in this phase.
Thailand’s superiority unquestioned
Thailand are the most successful team in this tournament with seven titles and they appear to be marching closer to the eighth. Like Indonesia, Thailand also fielded a squad mixed with veterans and potentials, but unlike the underachieving Indonesians, the Thais made their work smooth with four straight victories, including an impressive comeback from two goals down in a 4-2 victory over Singapore.
Patrik Gustavsson, the Swede-born striker, is clearly Thailand’s newest phenomenon, with three goals in four matches, and he will be fancied to become the next superstar of Thai football alongside Supachok Sarachat, Suphanat Mueanta and Supachai Chaided, and perhaps a potential solution for Masatada Ishii in the upcoming 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification. However, Thailand’s defence remains the team’s weak point, with games against Singapore and Cambodia in particular exposing the team’s defensive fragility; it was the weak defence that cost Thailand a place in the final round of the 2026 WCQ campaign after finishing behind China in agonising fashion. Yet, as long as Australia remain out of the mix, Thailand seem destined to walk straight to the eighth trophy.
Malaysia’s form a headache for incoming coach
Peter Cklamovski was Ange Postecoglou’s assistant in Australia’s 2015 Asian Cup victory. Since then, they have parted ways as Cklamovski seeks to build a legacy of his own. After helping FC Tokyo to finish seventh in the 2024 J1 League season, Cklamovski was contacted by the Malaysians for the job, a rare opportunity for an Aussie to coach a national team in the Southeast Asian region that is being dominated by Japanese or South Korean coaches.
But the performance of Harimau Malaya may prove to be a challenge. Malaysia had experienced a resurgence under the Korean Kim Pan-gon, but his rebuilding work remained incomplete when Kim accepted an offer to return to coaching Daegu. Interim manager Pau Martí took charge for the entire ASEAN Championship but Malaysia could barely prove threatening. A hard-fought 3-2 win over East Timor and their inability to take three points from Cambodia and Singapore, the latter costing Malaysia a place in the semis, demonstrated their current struggles. If Cklamovski can’t find a solution quickly, Malaysia will have a hard time ahead in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, when they face Vietnam.
Vietnam’s rebuild starting to bear fruits but questions linger
After disastrous results under Frenchman Philippe Troussier, 2006 World Cup veteran Kim Sang-sik was appointed to guide the Golden Dragons back to form. So far, Vietnam appear to be back on track after a decent group phase with three wins and a draw. Yet beneath the acceptable form lie a string of questions, both filled with even more unclear, cryptic answers.
Since taking the job from Troussier, Kim has had great difficulty working out how to help his players find their fire in the first 45 minutes. In fact, Vietnam have only scored in the first half just twice under Kim, and this trend continued in the Southeast Asian event, with the Vietnamese finding the back of the net solely in the final half in all four matches. In fact, even opponents deemed as inferior like Laos and Myanmar have also been capable of frustrating Vietnamese attackers.
Another matter is the injection of youngsters. While only two players in the Vietnam squad are above 30 years old, Vietnam also don’t have much fresh blood, with Khuất Văn Khang and Bùi Vĩ Hào the only two major inclusions. If Vietnam want to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, they’ll have to stumble on the right mix soon. Understandably, Kim is living under the great shadow of his predecessor Park Hang-seo, who coached Vietnam from 2017-22 and left an indelible mark on Vietnam’s rise to prominence.
There is still a positive sign, with Rafaelson, a recently naturalised Vietnamese citizen, firing in the side’s 5-0 thumping of Myanmar. Rafaelson is just 27 and can still contribute even more for the Vietnamese side in their attacking formation.
Are Singapore on a resurgence?
Singapore are the second most successful team in the regional competition with four titles, though they haven’t won since 2012. Instead, the Lions were on a terminal decline, due to limited resources compared to more formidable rivals like Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
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Under Tsutomu Ogura, Singapore have undergone a remarkable transformation. This was seen during the 2026 WCQ, when the Lions shocked China with a 2-2 draw at home despite being down 2-0 after the first half; then actively denied Thailand a place in the final round. Their credentials were further cemented by their regional showing, with the team securing key wins over Cambodia and East Timor, and harassing the Malaysians away in a goalless draw. They could consider themselves unlucky in the defeat to Thailand as well.
It is too early to say that this is a revival of Singaporean football, but the Lions are proving they can do well if they are led by the right people and have the right players. Beware fans, Singapore can be fascinating dark horses in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Philippines’ football bid got a major boost
Football was long seen by the archipelago’s population as a rich man’s sport; in turn, Filipinos often go after basketball and boxing, two major sports developed from the American era. The impact? The Philippines is the only Southeast Asian nation where football isn’t the most popular sport. Even when the country finally qualified for the 2019 Asian Cup, the country’s first major football competition, and the recent 2023 Women’s World Cup debut, football was still seen as somewhat of an outsider sport.
The Filipinos could finally cheer up with their showing in the ASEAN Championship this year. Though far from promising, Albert Capellas’ Azkals have been able to secure a vital win away to Indonesia, in addition to three draws to qualify undefeated. The key man behind the Philippines’ run was Bjørn Kristensen, KFUM-Oslo’s recent signing, and a much-improved defence despite sustained shortcomings. As the Philippines search for their first-ever regional final, with Thailand the next challengers, this decent run is a sign that the Filipinos could finally love football like how they used to love basketball and boxing. Why not, when the fastest player in the Bundesliga is Bochum’s Gerrit Holtmann, who has represented the Philippines since 2022?
Myanmar a shadow of their former selves
When the Burmese Lions came to the competition back in 2016 as one of the co-hosts, Myanmar supporters showed up with a raucous, passionate sentiment, and hope was high. The majority of the squad at the time was built from the core members who took part in the 2015 FIFA U/20 World Cup in New Zealand, hence the enthusiasm. Burmese could also point out their proud past, when the team finished runners-up in the 1968 Asian Cup, two Asian Games gold medals, and an appearance at the 1972 Olympics.
Not anymore. The coup in 2021 by Min Aung Hlaing decimated everything, including football. From this point, the national team were paralysed and divided. Some players defected to avoid persecution, others opted to continue playing. The President of the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF), Zaw Zaw’s close business ties to the brutal Tatmadaw generals, further dashed the image of the national team for the wider populace. Most people in Myanmar now care very little about their national team given inflation, corruption, mismanagement and war are raging.
Unsurprisingly Myanmar had a bad showing in the ASEAN Championship this year. Although they did have some promising results, such as a draw away to the Philippines, but the damaging 5-0 defeat to Vietnam put an end to their campaign. Given the politicised nature of football in the country, it is hard to see how the Burmese Lions could stage their return. Unless the Tatmadaw junta is toppled – something easier said than done.
Minnows made improvements but still a distance too far
Laos, Cambodia and East Timor are the three minnows in the competition, and they still lived up to that tag. Among them, the former two improved the most.
With Laos, their Group B run was decent, with two heroic draws to more formidable opponents Indonesia and the Philippines, especially to the former when Laos came back to gain a respectable 3-3 draw away. Sadly, they had proven unable to make their work count, with a predictable loss to Vietnam and a painful 3-2 defeat away to Myanmar sealing their fate.
Cambodia came close to reaching the semi-finals for the first time after going undefeated on home soil, with a win over East Timor and a decent draw to Malaysia 2-2. However, away losses to Singapore and Thailand spelt the end to the Angkor Warriors’ campaign. With Cambodia not going to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup, this felt like a bitterly missed opportunity.
Kusini Yengi of Australia scores. (Photo by Christopher Pike/Getty Images)
Is this the time for the Socceroos to debut at the ASEAN Championship?
Given what Indonesia have demonstrated, or even earlier performances by Thailand and Vietnam in the final round of World Cup qualifying, the fact that Australia have not debuted is worrying, especially in light of the Socceroos’ constant struggles in the final round.
Yes, there’s no doubt that the Socceroos have been denied entry because of their perceived superiority since joining the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) in 2013, but that gap is closing and the growth of teams like Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam can undermine Australia’s long-standing status. Their shock home loss to Bahrain should serve as a dangerous reminder.
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It’s up for Football Australia to negotiate the Socceroos’ participation. It’s not wrong to play in the regional competition. AFF is also recognising the benefits from Australia’s participation and some members are even advocating Australia’s entrance, at least, to end Thailand’s domination. Combined with Indonesia’s decent WCQ showing, are there enough reasons to justify action to join the regional festival once and for all? Yes, I believe there are.