ASEAN Cup has Southeast Asia teams ramping up early 2030 World Cup preparations

[AP Photo]

Preparations for the next men’s World Cup have already begun for teams in Southeast Asia, just weeks after Spain clinched the 2026 title.

The ASEAN Cup has kicked off in Phnom Penh, and host Cambodia has already lost its opening games 2-1 to Singapore and 5-1 to Indonesia in Group A.

The biennial tournament features 10 national teams from the region of 650 million, and there’s more on the minds of coaches and players than the trophy on offer in late August.

With Asian qualification for the 2030 World Cup starting next year, Southeast Asia’s soccer powerhouses such as Indonesia — the only team from the region to appear on the global stage, when it competed as the Dutch East Indies in 1938 — Thailand and Vietnam, have an opportunity to start preparations early.

ASEAN Football Federation president Khiev Sameth said getting another team from the region into the World Cup is within reach.

“I firmly believe that our shared dream of seeing a Southeast Asian nation qualify for the FIFA World Cup is becoming increasingly attainable,” he said. “I have every confidence that Southeast Asia will earn its place on football’s greatest stage. When that moment arrives, it will be a proud achievement shared by our entire ASEAN football family.”

From the region, Indonesia went closest to qualifying the 2026 World Cup. It has never won the ASEAN Cup in 15 previous editions despite reaching the final six times.

In January, Indonesia appointed John Herdman, the English tactician who led Canada to the 2022 World Cup for its first World Cup appearance in 36 years, to guide the national men’s team.

After the big opening win over Cambodia, Indonesia faces Timor Leste on Friday, followed next week by games against Vietnam and Singapore.

“Every day I wake up, everything I’ll be thinking about is qualifying this team for a World Cup,” Herdman said ahead of the tournament. “This is the place to be. I want to be here when this country takes that step.”

Indonesia has embarked on an intensive program of naturalizing players from overseas who are eligible to represent the national team. Just in July, Mitch Baker and Luke Vickery, both Australian-born players, attended separate ceremonies in Jakarta to become Indonesian citizens.

Erick Thohir, Minister of Youth and Sports was in attendance with the 19-year-old Baker, who scored a hat-trick and was voted player of the match in his debut at the ASEAN Cup.

“We have ambitious targets for the SEA Games, Asian Games, Olympics, and even the World Cup,” Thohir, who is also the head of Indonesia’s soccer federation, said. “Through this collaboration, we will continue to improve Indonesian sports and welcome everyone who can proudly raise the red and white flag.”

Kim Sang-sik, head coach of defending champion Vietnam, also has the World Cup in his sights.

“Watching the World Cup, we witnessed so many exciting matches and were truly impressed,” Kim, who represented South Korea at the 2006 World Cup, said. “The players and I watched the tournament together, and we all dreamed of competing right here someday.”

Thailand has the best record in the ASEAN tournament with seven titles. The Thai team is in Group B with Malaysia, Laos, Philippines and Myanmar.

“There’s pressure for a reason and the reason is we have a very good group of players, a great fan base,” Anthony Hudson, who was appointed head coach last year, said. “I believe in the players and I think the fans deserve success because they’ve been crying out for it.”

The top two teams in each group will progress to the semifinals. The winning semifinalists will play off in two-game final series on Aug. 22 and 26.

After that, the teams from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will turn their attention to the 2027 Asian Cup, which kicks off Jan. 7 in Saudi Arabia. JOHN DUERDEN, SEOUL, MDT/AP