The much awaited AFF Suzuki Cup is here once again with the best teams in Southeast Asia battling it out for the honour of being the top team in the region.
Vietnam as the reigning champions from the 2018 edition will be one of the favourites again with Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore all looking to dethrone the two-time champions.
Initially scheduled to be held in 2020, the tournament was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will see a new format this time around with a centralised location being chosen to house all 26 matches that will be played in the competition, with Singapore being the host country.
Ten teams have been split over two groups, with the top two sides in each group advancing to the semi-final stage.
The tournament promises to be an exciting one, with Group A looking particularly tasty while it will be rivalries renewed for Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia in Group B, having already been played in the same group during the second round of the joint 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualification.
2
Vietnam (Q)
4
3
1
0
9
0
+9
10
4
Cambodia
4
1
0
3
6
11
-5
3
5
Laos
4
0
0
4
1
14
-13
0
It’s a magnificent list of the biggest names in the region when it comes to the players who have won the Golden Boot in previous editions from Bambang Pamungkas in 2002 to Noh Alam Shah in 2007 to Safee Sali in 2010.
The battle in Singapore this year end will see the best of the current crop in Nguyen Tien Linh, Teerasil Dangda, Ikhsan Fandi and Safawi Rasid vying to score the most.
1=
Safawi Rasid
Malaysia
4
=
Chanathip Songkrasin
Thailand
4
=
Teerasil Dangda
Thailand
4
=
Bienve Maranon
Philippines
4
5=
Irfan Jaya
Indonesia
3
=
Ikhsan Fandi
Singapore
3
=
Supachok Sarachat
Thailand
3
8=
Nguyen Cong Phuong
Vietnam
2
=
Nguyen Tien Linh
Vietnam
2
=
Nguyen Quang Hai
Vietnam
2
=
Evan Dimas
Indonesia
2
=
Witan Sulaeman
Indonesia
2
=
Pratama Arhan
Indonesia
2
=
Ezra Walian
Indonesia
2
=
Rachmat Irianto
Indonesia
2
=
Amin Nazari
Philippines
2
=
Chan Vathanaka
Cambodia
2
The National Stadium with 55,000 seating capacity will be the primary stadium that is likely to host the Group A matches, having first been featured in the Suzuki Cup back in 2014 which was coincidentally the last time Singapore was chosen as the host country for one group in a previous iteration of the competition format.
Likely to be the venue for Group B matches, this 6,200-odd seater Bishan Stadium is located centrally in Singapore having previously been used during the 2015 Southeast Asian Games as well as being the training ground for the likes of Juventus and Atletico Madrid for the International Champions Cup.
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