AFF Suzuki Cup 2020: holders Vietnam draw 2018 finalists Malaysia in group B

Group A draw sees Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and winner of play-off between Timor Leste and Brunei

Indonesia, Keisuke Honda’s Cambodia and Laos round out group B for December tournament

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Vietnam players celebrate after winning the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup final match against Malaysia at My Dinh stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: EPA

Published: 3:37pm, 21 Sep 2021Updated: 3:55pm, 21 Sep 2021

The delayed 2020 edition of the AFF Suzuki Cup will see a resumption of hostilities between Southeast Asia’s premier footballing nations, with the draw confirming the groups for this year’s tournament, which kicks off in December.

Some 280 million fans tuned into watch the 2018 edition of the competition which saw Vietnam become winners for the second time as they beat Malaysia 3-2 over two legs.

Fans will get to see an immediate rematch as the teams were drawn together in group B at Tuesday’s draw.

Holders Vietnam and five-time winners Thailand were the top ranked teams in the “the crown jewel of Asean football”, and were kept apart in the draw.

Thai football fans cheer for their team before the AFF Suzuki Cup 2016 semi-final second-leg match against Myanmar at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok. Photo: EPA

The top two teams would be last to be drawn into the five-team groups, which followed the draw for the play-off.

In that qualifying round, Brunei will play Timor Leste for a place in the group stage with the nine top teams in the region. The draw saw Timor Leste confirmed as the away team in the one-off game.