The

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

rivalry between Vietnam and Thailand is considered by many as a major sporting rivalry in Southeast Asia. Including the records of the South Vietnam national football team, both sides have faced each other in 56 matches since 1956, with Vietnam winning 23, Thailand 22 and 11 resulting in a draw. As one of the most popular rivalries in Southeast Asia, matches between Thailand and Vietnam often attract huge attention from the media and supporters in both countries.

Background

Historically Thailand is the most successful side in Southeast Asian men's football, winning a total of 7 AFF Championship titles as opposed to Vietnam's 2. Since the 21st century, Thailand has also qualified for the

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

more times than Vietnam, although the latter achieved better overall performances in the two editions they managed to qualify for. During the

2007 AFC Asian Cup The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the 14th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007. For the first time in its h ...

Vietnam became the only host country to reach the knockout phase after eliminating Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia in the group stage. In the 2019 edition, Vietnam reached the quarterfinals while Thailand was knocked out in the round of 16. Despite being termed "rivalry" by the media, since 1995 the fixtures have mostly been in favor of Thailand with occasional upsets from Vietnam. During the early period, Thailand had inferior overall records against South Vietnam, losing 20 out of 27 matches and winning only 4. However, after a unified Vietnam returned to international football in 1991, Thailand displayed remarkable domination when they recorded 16 wins, 9 draws, and only 3 losses. The most recent confrontation between these two teams took place in the second leg of the

2022 AFF Championship The 2022 AFF Championship (officially AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 due to sponsorship reasons) was the 14th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and was the 1 ...

final, where Thailand won the match 1–0 (3–2 on aggregate). The South Vietnam team winning gold at the 1959 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games in Thailand after beating the hosts Vietnam's most memorable victory against Thailand since its reintegration was in the

2008 AFF Championship The 2008 AFF Championship was the seventh edition of the tournament. It was primarily sponsored by Suzuki and therefore officially known as the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup. The group stage was held in Indonesia and Thailand from 5 to 10 December 2008. T ...

final when a 2–1 win in the first leg in Bangkok set them up for their first-ever regional title, which they secured after a 1–1 draw in Hanoi.

List of matches

Thailand vs. South Vietnam

Thailand vs. Vietnam

Statistics

Honours

Top scorers

As of 26 December 2021
Players in bold are still active for the national team

Women's matches

The two nations also have a strong rivalry in women's football. Out of 36 matches played, Vietnam has won 18, Thailand 9 and 9 were drawn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thailand-Vietnam football rivalry Vietnam Vietnam national football team Thailand–Vietnam relations 1956 establishments in Asia International association football rivalries