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Singapore, Indonesia to clash on first day of inaugural FIFA Asian Cup

Sandy Verma | September 10, 2026 5:24 PM CST

The tournament features 14 national teams, 11 Southeast Asian and three invited teams, competing across a two-division format in Indonesia and Hong Kong.

The Southeast Asian participants are Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Timor-Leste, and Brunei.

While Hong Kong, mainland China and India were initially invited to participate, China declined and India withdrew to play stronger opponents. FIFA later replaced them with Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The competition is structured into two divisions to boost competitiveness and overall match quality.

Division 1 features Group A, comprising host nation Indonesia alongside Bangladesh, Malaysia and Singapore. Group B consists of Vietnam, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Division 2 features host Hong Kong, Laos, and Brunei in Group A, while Cambodia, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste form Group B.

Teams will compete in a round-robin format within their respective groups. In each division, the winner of each group will advance to face each other in the final. Additionally, Division 1 includes a third-place match for the runners-up of each group.

Division 1
Date	Group/Stage	Time (local)	Match
25/9	A	4 p.m.	Bangladesh – Malaysia
25/9	A	8 a.m.	Indonesia – Singapore
26/9	B	4 p.m.	Pakistan – Thailand
26/9	B	7:30 p.m.	Vietnam – Philippines
28/9	A	4 p.m.	Singapore – Bangladesh
28/9	A	7:30 p.m.	Malaysia – Indonesia
29/9	B	4 p.m.	Philippines – Pakistan
29/9	B	7:30 p.m.	Thailand – Vietnam
1/10	A	7:30 p.m.	Indonesia – Bangladesh
1/10	A	7:30 p.m.	Malaysia – Singapore
2/10	B	4 p.m.	Vietnam – Pakistan
2/10	B	4 p.m.	Thailand – Philippines
5/10	Third place	4 p.m.	2nd place Group A – 2nd place Group B
5/10	Final	8 p.m.	1st place Group A – 1st place Group B
Division 2
24/9	A	5 p.m.	Laos – Brunei
24/9	B	8 p.m.	Myanmar – Timor-Leste
27/9	A	3 p.m.	Hong Kong – Laos
27/9	B	6 p.m.	Cambodia – Myanmar
30/9	A	5 p.m.	Timor-Leste – Cambodia
30/9	B	8 p.m.	Brunei – Hong Kong
3/10	Final	6 p.m.	1st place Group A – 1st place Group B

The group stage is scheduled to run from Sept. 24 to Oct. 2. The Division 2 final will take place on Oct. 3, followed by the Division 1 final and third-place match on Oct. 5.

All Division 1 fixtures will be hosted in Indonesia at the 77,193-seat Gelora Bung Karno Stadium and the 27,000-seat Si Jalak Harupat Stadium. Division 2 matches will be held in Hong Kong at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium and Mong Kok Stadium (6,664).

This two-division format is expected to minimize matches with skill gaps by ensuring teams of similar ability face each other more frequently. The format also motivates teams to strive for promotion or fight to maintain their current standing in future editions.

Scheduling the tournament during FIFA Days allows competing nations to field their strongest possible squads, resulting in a higher quality of matches compared to the traditional ASEAN Cup. Match results will count toward FIFA rankings based on the coefficient for international friendly matches.

Vietnam’s forward Nguyen Dinh Bac (R) gets past Thailand defender Waris Choolthong in the first leg of the ASEAN Cup final, at Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand, on Aug. 22, 2026. Photo by Read/Duc Dong

The Vietnam national team are scheduled to gather on Sept. 14, following the conclusion of Round 2 of the 2026-2027 V-League season. Players of Cong An Ha Noi and The Cong will join the national squad later due to their ongoing club commitments in the AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League Two.

Head coach Kim Sang-sik will trim the roster to 26 players before the team travels to Indonesia on Sept. 21. If Vietnam successfully finish first or second in their group, the squad would play a total of four matches over 10 days.

The team’s busiest FIFA international window was in October 2023, when they faced China, Uzbekistan and South Korea