Vietnam, Thailand among No. 1 seeds for AFF Cup 2018

According to the AFF, as the Vietnamese team progressed to the semi-finals in two consecutive AFF Cup tournaments in 2014 and 2016, the national team has been seeded No. 1 in the tournament this year.

The groups are announced as followed: No. 1 seed group (Vietnam, Thailand), No. 2 (Malaysia, Indonesia), No. 3 (the Philippines, Myanmar), No. 4 (Singapore, Cambodia), and No. 5 (Laos, East Timor and Brunei).

As a result of the groupings, Vietnam’s team may not face Thailand in the qualifying round of the AFF Cup 2018. The draw is scheduled for May 2018. Special cases are East Timor and Brunei, as the two teams will play-off for a place to compete in the tournament.

AFF Cup 2018 will take place from November 8 - December 15 2018. Each team will have 4 matches in the group stages, including 2 matches on their home ground and 2 matches on the rival’s ground. As such, the tournament has no host country.