Vietnam’s long unbeaten run ended under the lights on Tuesday, with Thailand again the team to break it. A 2-1 defeat in the Southeast Asian Championship group stage brought a halt to a sequence that had lasted 27 matches.
Quick facts
- Thailand beat Vietnam 2-1 in the Southeast Asian Championship group phase.
- Vietnam had gone 27 matches without defeat before Tuesday.
- Their previous loss was also a 2-1 defeat to Thailand, in a friendly on 10 September 2024.
- Vietnam had faced Thailand four times without losing between those two defeats: three wins and one draw.
- Kim Sang-sik, the South Korean coach, succeeded France’s Philippe Troussier before the unbeaten sequence began.
The defeat was Vietnam’s first since September 2024, when Thailand also won by the same scoreline in a friendly. Between those setbacks, Vietnam had built a resilient record against a series of mainly lower-ranked Asian opponents, many of whom are not regular Asian Cup participants.
The unbeaten stretch began in October 2024, a few months after Kim took charge of the national side. It ranked among the longer active runs in international football, although it remained behind Spain’s ongoing 39-match sequence.
Thailand had been unable to beat Vietnam in the four meetings before Tuesday’s group-stage contest. Vietnam won three of those games and drew the other, but the latest meeting reset the rivalry and closed a notable run for Kim’s team.
