Based on previous records, Malaysia had reached the AFF Championship final three times (
1996,
2010 and
2014) while Vietnam had reached the AFF Championship final two times (
1998 and
2008). The two sides last met on 23 November 2016 in the group stage of the previous
2016 AFF Championship. Based on the latest rankings released by
FIFA World Rankings on 29 November 2018, Malaysia was ranked 167 while Vietnam ranked 100.[6] Both teams had already won their first trophy of the tournament, with Vietnam winning in
2008 and Malaysia in
2010.[7]
Both Malaysia and Vietnam were drawn into
Group A of the 2018 AFF Championship. After winning three and drawing one in group matches, Vietnam finished first in the group. Malaysia finished second in the group to progress to the
knockout phase of the tournament. Vietnam's first match victory was against
Laos with a score of 3–0. From there, they continue the path by beating Malaysia by 2–0 and drawing 0–0 with
Myanmar before defeating
Cambodia by 3–0. Vietnam progressed to the semi-finals to face
Group B runner-up of the
Philippines. In the first-leg in
Bacolod, Vietnam won 2–1 before winning the second-leg in
Hanoi by another similar scores of 2–1 with total aggregate of 4–2. Malaysia's won their first match against Cambodia by 1–0 before beating Laos by 3–1. Despite losing to Vietnam by 0–2, they managed to qualify to semi-finals after beating Myanmar by 3–0. In the semi-finals, Malaysia face
Group B winner as well the defending champion of the tournament of
Thailand. In the first-leg in
Kuala Lumpur, they drew 0–0 before drawing 2–2 in the second-leg in
Bangkok with a similar total aggregate of 2–2, qualifying through the
away goals rule.
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
^"Men's ranking". FIFA. 29 November 2018. Archived from
the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
^José Pablo Díaz (7 December 2018).
"Malaysia to face Vietnam in Suzuki Cup final". AS South Africa. Archived from
the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018. Both teams have already emerged victorious at the tournament once, with Vietnam being crowned winners in 2008 and Malaysia in 2010.