Few fixtures in Southeast Asian football carry as much history as Indonesia against Thailand. The two countries have met in regional finals again and again, and for Indonesian fans most of those nights ended in disappointment.

Tonight, 5 October, they meet again in the final of the first FIFA ASEAN Cup at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) in Jakarta. (For kick-off time, TV and team news, read our match preview.) Here is the history behind the match.

The all-time record

Counts of the head-to-head record differ, depending on which matches are included.

Source Matches Indonesia wins Draws Thailand wins
Jawa Pos and detik 78 25 16 37
Transfermarkt, cited by Tirto 35 13 3 19

The smaller Transfermarkt count appears to leave out many older matches. Both counts agree on the main point: Thailand lead the record.

According to Jawa Pos, the first meeting was at the Merdeka Tournament in Malaysia on 31 August 1957, and Indonesia won it 4-0.

Indonesia have a better record at home. detik counts 14 home matches against Thailand, with seven wins, two draws and five defeats.

Four ASEAN Championship finals lost to Thailand

The ASEAN Championship, formerly the Tiger Cup, AFF Suzuki Cup and AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup, is the region's main senior tournament. Thailand have won it seven times. Indonesia have reached six finals and lost them all, the most finals by any team without a title, according to the tournament record. Four of those six finals were against Thailand.

Edition Result What happened
2000 Thailand 4-1 Indonesia One-off final played in Thailand
2002 Indonesia 2-2 Thailand, Thailand won 4-2 on penalties Final played in Jakarta
2016 Indonesia 2-1, then Thailand 2-0 Thailand won 3-2 on aggregate
2020 Thailand 4-0, then 2-2 Both legs in Singapore, December 2021 and January 2022; Thailand won 6-2 on aggregate

Sources: 2000 Tiger Cup, 2002 Tiger Cup, Tirto, Okezone.

The 2002 final still hurts most for many fans. Indonesia came back from two goals down at home, then lost the shoot-out. In 2016, Indonesia won the first leg 2-1 at Pakansari stadium in Bogor on 14 December, but lost 2-0 in the second leg three days later.

Indonesia's other two lost finals were against Singapore in 2004 and Malaysia in 2010.

SEA Games: where Indonesia have won

The SEA Games tell a more balanced story, although the football tournament has been played by under-23 teams since 2001.

  • 1991, Manila: Indonesia beat Thailand on penalties in the final to win gold. It remains Indonesia's last gold medal at senior level, detik noted.
  • 1997, Jakarta: Thailand won the final on penalties at Senayan.
  • 2023, Phnom Penh: Indonesia's under-22 team beat Thailand 5-2 after extra time in a final that finished 2-2 after 90 minutes. The match included two brawls and four red cards, CNN Indonesia and The Jakarta Post reported. It ended Indonesia's 32-year wait for SEA Games football gold.

The recent record

At senior level, Thailand have had the upper hand in recent years. The last senior meeting NDNews found was a 1-1 draw at GBK on 29 December 2022, in the group stage of that year's ASEAN Championship. According to Tirto, Indonesia have now gone seven senior matches without beating Thailand.

The teams did not meet at senior level between 2023 and this week. At youth level, Indonesia have won the big recent games:

  • 2023: the SEA Games final described above.
  • 2025: In the ASEAN U-23 Championship semi-final at GBK on 25 July 2025, Indonesia drew 1-1 with Thailand and won 7-6 on penalties, ANTARA reported.

Both teams arrive with something to prove

Thailand lost this year's ASEAN Championship final to the holders, Vietnam. Vietnam won 2-0 in Bangkok on 22 August and drew 2-2 in Hanoi in the second leg, winning 4-2 on aggregate, according to The Star and the ASEAN Football Federation.

Indonesia went out in the group stage of that tournament and did not face Thailand. Under coach John Herdman, they now have a home final in a new FIFA competition.

Why this rivalry matters

The rivalry is about more than results. Thailand set the standard in the region for most of the past 30 years, with a strong domestic league and a stable national team programme. Indonesia, with the region's largest population and some of its most passionate supporters, have often come close without winning.

A win tonight would give Indonesia their first senior regional trophy since 1991, and it would come against the team that has denied them most often. A Thailand win would extend a long run of success against Indonesia in finals.

Key numbers

  • 78: matches in the longest available head-to-head count (25 Indonesia wins, 37 Thailand wins)
  • 4: ASEAN Championship finals Indonesia have lost to Thailand
  • 6: ASEAN Championship finals Indonesia have lost in total
  • 7: ASEAN Championship titles won by Thailand
  • 1991: Indonesia's last senior regional gold, won against Thailand
  • 7: senior matches since Indonesia last beat Thailand, according to Tirto

This article was researched with AI assistance and reviewed by the NDNews editorial team. It is based on historical records and media reports as of 5 October 2026. Historical head-to-head totals differ between sources.