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Vietnam defeated Malaysia 2-0 in the return leg on Wednesday evening at My Dinh Stadium, securing a 4-0 aggregate victory in the 2026 ASEAN Cup semifinals.

This marked the team’s second consecutive appearance in the tournament final, and coach Kim reached his fourth straight final in Southeast Asian competitions.

Earlier under Kim’s leadership, Vietnam’s national team had won the 2024 ASEAN Cup title in January 2025, defeating Thailand 5-3 on aggregate, while the U23 squad claimed the ASEAN U23 Championship crown in July 2025 with a 1-0 victory over hosts Indonesia and secured the gold medal at the 33rd SEA Games in December with a comeback 3-2 victory against hosts Thailand.

The 49-year-old coach now has the opportunity to become the first manager to lead Vietnam to back-to-back ASEAN Cup titles. If this happens, he would become the fifth coach to successfully defend the regional title, following English manager Peter Withe for Thailand in 2000, 2002, Serbian coach Radojko Avramovic for Singapore in 2004, 2007, Kiatisuk Senamuang for Thailand in 2014, 2016, and Brazilian coach Mano Polking for Thailand in 2020, 2022.

A showdown between Vietnam and Thailand for the 2026 ASEAN Cup title would also set a record, marking the third consecutive final meeting between the same two teams (following 2022 and 2024).

The two teams have faced each other in the final four times, tying the record held by the Thailand-Indonesia rivalry. Vietnam have defeated Thailand twice (2008 and 2024), whereas Indonesia have lost every time.

The ASEAN Cup, formerly known as the Tiger Cup and AFF Cup, has been held since 1996. The ASEAN U23 Championship debuted in 2005 but faced interruptions before becoming a regular tournament in 2019. Men’s football at the SEA Games was first held in 1959.

Before Kim, Park Hang-seo led Vietnam to win the AFF Cup in 2018 and SEA Games gold medals in 2019 and 2022. Park did not manage the U23 squad in the ASEAN U23 Championship during his tenure, when Vietnam won the title twice, in 2022 and 2023, under the guidance of local coaches Dinh The Nam and Hoang Anh Tuan.

Highlights Vietnam 2-0 Malaysia

Kim has the opportunity to surpass his predecessor Park in terms of official titles won with Vietnam if he clinches the 2026 ASEAN Cup. However, Kim’s success has so far been limited to the Southeast Asian level. On the continental stage, he has secured the bronze medal at the 2026 U23 Asian Cup, whereas Park won silver at the same tournament in 2018 and reached the semifinals of the 2018 Asian Games, the quarterfinals of the 2019 Asian Cup and the third round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Since arriving in Vietnam in May 2024, Kim has lost only four matches. At the national team level, the squad lost 1-3 to Iraq in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, followed by losses to Russia (0-3) and Thailand (1-2) in friendly matches. At the U23 level, the team lost 0-3 to China in the semifinals of the 2026 U23 Asian Cup.

Under Kim, Vietnam are currently on a 24-match unbeaten streak, including 21 victories. Across 28 matches, the team has won 22 and drawn three, scoring 64 goals and conceding 21. Kim’s 78.6% win rate is the highest in the national team’s history.

At the U23 level, Kim has won 16 matches and lost one, scoring 31 goals and conceding 13.