Vietnam will walk into the second leg of the ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026 final in Hanoi on Wednesday with a 2-0 lead over Thailand, and Kim Sang-sik says he is ready to dance if his team finishes the job. The final will be played at a sold-out Mỹ Đình National Stadium, where Vietnam can turn a strong first leg into a rare title defense.
Kim said the players have prepared well and that the team still has work to do despite the advantage from Saturday’s 2-0 win in Bangkok. Nguyễn Hai Long and Nguyễn Quang Hải scored the second-half goals that put Vietnam in control, but the coach made clear that nothing is settled yet and that Thailand, the seven-times champions, are still trying to overturn the deficit.
That is why Wednesday matters. Vietnam won the regional crown in 2008, 2018 and 2024, but have never defended it successfully, and Kim is now trying to become only the fifth coach to win back-to-back titles. He also said he had seen footage of his post-match celebration after Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC’s K League 1 title win in 2022 go viral, a reminder that if Vietnam finish the task, the reaction could be as memorable as the result.
Nguyễn Đình Bắc has become part of the build-up too. Kim said he would like Bắc to score so they can celebrate together, and the forward said the team feels the support from the stands and knows the ticket demand is intense. Bắc, who shares the tournament scoring lead with Nguyễn Xuân Son on five goals, said the side is treating the final as if the score were still 0-0 and will try to give the crowd a performance worth the price of admission.
Thailand, under Anthony Hudson, need more than pressure and possession now. They need two goals just to level the tie before any chance of winning on the night, and they must do it in a ground that is expected to be full and loud. Kim’s caution is the clearest sign that Vietnam understand the margin: a 2-0 lead is strong, but in a final it is not a trophy, only the place from which one can still lose it.
So the title will be decided in Hanoi, not in memory of Bangkok. If Vietnam close it out, they will finally do something no previous side in the country has managed. If they do not, Thailand will have turned a two-goal gap into one of the most striking recoveries in the tournament’s 30-year history.
