Group A features hosts Thailand alongside Cambodia and Timor-Leste. Group C has defending champions Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Singapore.
Vietnam lost 1–2 to Malaysia in the group stage in their SEA Games debut in 1991, won 2–0 in 1995 and lost 0–1 in 1997.
Since the tournament switched to using U23 players in 2001, Vietnam lost 0–2 to Malaysia in the 2001 group stage, 0–1 in the 2009 final and 1–2 in the 2013 group stage, but beat them 2–1 in the 2005 semifinal, 3–1 in the 2007 group stage, 3–1 in the 2009 group stage, 5–1 in 2015, 1–0 after extra time in the 2021 semifinal and 3–1 in 2023.
Against Laos, Vietnam have won all 10 previous SEA Games group stage games.
SEA Games 33 men's football features 10 teams split into two groups of three and one group of four for the first time. Teams play in a round-robin format, with the three group winners plus the best runner-up advancing to the semifinals. This marks a departure from the previous two-group formats used in SEA Games men's football since 1959 and women's football since 1985.
Seeding for the draw was based on results from the last two editions (2021 and 2023). Vietnam were in Pot 1 thanks to the 2021 gold medal and a 2023 semifinal appearance. The other Pot 1 teams were hosts Thailand and defending champions Indonesia. Pot 2 has Myanmar, Malaysia and Cambodia. Pot 3 includes Timor Leste, the Philippines and Laos, while Singapore were in Pot 4 alone.
The three groups of the SEA Games 33 men's football in Thailand. Photo by SEA Games Thailand 2025
SEA Games 33 run from Dec. 9 to 20 and include four football events: men’s and women’s football, plus men’s and women’s futsal. Thailand are targeting gold in all four.
Group A matches will be played at Tinsulanon Stadium (capacity 30,000) in Songkhla. Groups B and C will play at the 700th Anniversary Stadium (18,000) in Chiangmai. The men’s semifinals and final are set for Rajamangala Stadium (51,500) in Bangkok.
Hosts Thailand have set the age limit for football events at 22 (players born on or after Jan. 1, 2003). Since 2001, the SEA Games have used U23 players, before switching to U22 in 2017 to align with the U23 Asian Cup calendar. Overage players were allowed at two editions, which were both won by Vietnam under coach Park Hang-seo.
The most recent event in 2023 with solely U22 players saw Indonesia beat Thailand 5–2 after extra time to win their first gold since 1991, while Vietnam beat Myanmar 3–1 for bronze.
Thailand lead the all-time SEA Games men's football medal table with 16 golds, followed by Malaysia (6), Myanmar (5) and Vietnam and Indonesia (3 each).
SEA Games also serves as preparation for Southeast Asian sides ahead of the U23 Asian Cup.