AFF Cup 2024 draw today

The AFF Cup 2024 draw ceremony will take place at a 5-star hotel in Hanoi. New head coach of the Vietnam national team, Kim Sang-sik, will attend the ceremony.

The AFF ranks the seed groups based on the results of the last two tournaments, with two teams in each group. Thailand won the AFF Cup in the last two tournaments - 2020 and 2022, so they are ranked first in the number one seed group. Vietnam finished second once and lost once in the semi-finals, with the same 19 points as Indonesia, but with better sub-indexes, they are ranked higher, occupying the remaining spot in the number one seed group.

Indonesia falls into pot two along with Malaysia. Pot three has Singapore and the Philippines, while pot four has Myanmar and Cambodia. The final seeding pot is Laos and the winner of the match between Brunei and Timor Leste.

Thailand and Vietnam will top their respective groups. The organizers will then draw lots for each team in the next seeding pot to add more teams. Vietnam could be in the same group as Indonesia, their recent rivals.

The Vietnamese national team was unbeaten against Indonesia when coach Park Hang-seo was in charge. However, after the Korean coach retired, this record was no longer maintained. Under coach Philippe Troussier - Park's successor, Vietnam continuously lost to the Indonesian team in the semi-finals of the 2021 SEA Games, the 2024 Asian Cup and two matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The 0-3 loss to Indonesia at My Dinh on March 26 was the last straw that forced coach Troussier to leave.

VFF then chose coach Kim Sang-sik as the head coach of the Vietnam national team. The Korean coach was assigned the target of bringing the Vietnam national team to the final of the 2024 AFF Cup.

2024 will be the 15th edition of the AFF Cup - a tournament founded in 1996. Vietnam has won the championship twice, in 2008 and 2018. Thailand has the most achievements, with 7 championships, followed by Singapore with 4 championships. Besides Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam, only Malaysia has won the championship once in 2010.

Indonesia is considered the king of runners-up, having reached the final six times but never won the championship. The Indonesian Football Federation hopes that coach Shin Tae-yong will help them end their thirst for the AFF Cup title this year. The team of thousands of islands has become much stronger in the past year when it has called up many naturalized players.