Teerasak Poeiphimai’s hat-trick puts Thailand top of Group B, Vietnam scrape past the Philippines, and in a format where only the winner goes through, Tuesday night in Bandung already has the feel of a knockout tie.

Four games, four wins for the favourites, not a single goal conceded by any of the teams that won, and yet the first round of the FIFA ASEAN Cup’s Premier Division has somehow managed to tell us less than it seems and more than we expected. Less, because beating Pakistan and Bangladesh was the least Thailand and Malaysia were expected to do. More, because the one-winner format means every margin now carries weight, and because the one game between two serious sides, Vietnam against the Philippines, was far closer than the scoreline makes it look.

Start in Bandung, with Thailand. Anthony Hudson’s side beat Pakistan 4-0 at the Si Jalak Harupat on Saturday afternoon, and it was the kind of result that looks routine on the page and was, in truth, something slightly more interesting than that. Pakistan, ranked 198th in the world and playing their first men’s FIFA tournament, held their shape for half an hour. Thailand had to be patient, and for once they were. When the chances came, it was Teerasak Poeiphimai, 41 goals in 101 games for Port and a starter in both legs of August’s final, who took them.

That matters beyond the three points. Group B is effectively a two-horse race, and Thailand and Vietnam both have three points. What separates them now is goal difference: Thailand +4, Vietnam +1. In a tournament where only the group winner reaches the final and everyone else plays for bronze, a three-goal cushion is not nothing. It is the kind of thing that decides groups.

And the next thing on the list is Vietnam, on Tuesday night, in the same stadium. The side that beat Thailand 4-2 on aggregate in the ASEAN Championship final barely a month ago. There is no hiding from that fixture now.

Group B: Pakistan 0-4 Thailand

Pakistan

0-4

Thailand

Sat 26 Sept, Si Jalak Harupat, Bandung · Teerasak Poeiphimai 31′, 60′, 84′; Jude Soonsup-Bell 41′

For 30 minutes Pakistan did what underdogs are supposed to do: sat deep, slid in, and made Thailand look for gaps that weren’t there. Nolberto Solano’s side were organised and brave, and their goalkeeper, Yousuf Butt, was very good. The breakthrough came from his best moment. Butt pushed away a Soonsup-Bell header on the half-hour, and Teerasak was quickest to the rebound.

The second goal was the sort that makes a coach wince. Pakistan’s captain, Abdullah Iqbal, misplaced a pass out from the back, and Soonsup-Bell, the former Chelsea academy forward Hudson has clearly taken to, finished from close range four minutes before half-time. Solano changed three players at the break, sending on Shayek Dost, Hayyan Khattak and Alamgir Ghazi and pushing his full-backs higher, and Pakistan were more enterprising for it. Abdul Samad Arshad dragged one narrowly wide. But more ambition meant more space, and Thailand used it.

Teerasak’s second arrived just after the hour, a left-footed volley that looped in off the Pakistan full-back Haris Zeb. Dawn, the Express Tribune and Thai outlets including Matichon credit it to Teerasak, which makes this a hat-trick; Samaa and Daily News record it as an own goal, and the timing of the goal differs between 60 and 64 minutes depending on whom you read. We’ve gone with the majority reading until the official FIFA match sheet settles it. There was no argument about the fourth: Teerasak pounced on a defensive mix-up six minutes from time.

The detail Hudson seemed happiest about was the one that didn’t happen. Chanathip Songkrasin was not needed, and in a schedule that asks for three group games in seven days, that is its own small victory.

Anthony Hudson, Thailand coach (as reported by Matichon, translated): “I’m very proud of every single player. We accomplished our mission tonight, and now we must immediately shift focus to the next match against Vietnam.”

Group B: Vietnam 1-0 Philippines

Vietnam

1-0

Philippines

Sat 26 Sept, Si Jalak Harupat, Bandung · Nguyễn Đình Bắc 25′

If Thailand’s win was cleaner than it looked, Vietnam’s was the reverse. The champions of South-east Asia beat the Philippines by a single goal, and they needed the crossbar, VAR and their goalkeeper to do it.

Randy Schneider hit the bar for the Philippines in the 23rd minute. Two minutes later Vietnam scored: Lê Phạm Thành Long threaded a pass through for Williams Minh Hoàng, whose pressure forced a deflection, and Nguyễn Đình Bắc tapped in. That was all the scoring there would be, but not for lack of incident.

The Philippines’ Jesper Nyholm was sent off in the 75th minute for denying a goalscoring opportunity, only for VAR to find no foul and overturn the red. Seven or eight minutes later, depending on which report you trust, Kenji Nishioka thought he had equalised from Sandro Reyes’ pass, and VAR took that away too, for offside. Then, three minutes into stoppage time, Patrik Lê Giang produced a superb save from Sebastian Rasmussen’s header to protect the lead. Jarvey Gayoso, the Philippines’ most dangerous player all evening, had forced him into work earlier as well.

The bigger worry for Vietnam is Nguyễn Xuân Son. The striker went off after 58 minutes with what Kim Sang-sik described as a muscle strain, replaced by Nguyễn Hai Long. Whether he faces Thailand on Tuesday was unclear on Sunday morning.

Kim Sang-sik, Vietnam coach (to Thanh Niên and Vietnamese media, translated): Vietnam “had quite a bit of luck to win against the Philippines”. On Thailand: “Thailand brought their strongest possible squad to this tournament, so Vietnam must prepare very carefully.”

Group A: Indonesia 2-0 Singapore

Indonesia

2-0

Singapore

Fri 25 Sept, Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta · Ragnar Oratmangoen 13′; Ole Romeny 74′ (pen) · Red card: Safuwan Baharudin (Singapore) 70′

The co-hosts opened the Premier Division in front of a crowd AsiaOne put at more than 38,000, and they were ahead inside 13 minutes. Luke Vickery, on his debut, delivered from the right and Ragnar Oratmangoen tapped in. Indonesia dominated the first half without adding to it, and Singapore did not have a shot on target before the break.

Gavin Lee’s side were better after half-time, and Song Ui-young brought a save from Maarten Paes. But the game turned in two minutes. On 70 minutes Safuwan Baharudin, the 35-year-old Selangor centre-back with 133 caps, was sent off after a VAR review for bringing down Mitchell Baker as the last man. From the resulting free-kick, Thom Haye’s delivery struck a Singapore hand, and Ole Romeny sent Izwan Mahbud the wrong way from the spot. Most reports have that at 74 minutes; VnExpress has it at 73.

John Herdman, Indonesia coach (to Liputan6, translated): “I’m also proud of Ole for scoring his goal. He has scored several goals in recent matches. We’re beginning to have a consistent goalscorer.”

Gavin Lee, Singapore coach (to AsiaOne): “I cannot control what the ref does, but what I can speak about is how we responded… we are a side that never give up, we never give in, and that was very evident despite the sending off.”

A straight red usually carries at least a one-match ban, which would rule Safuwan out of Monday’s game against Bangladesh. The Football Association of Singapore had not confirmed that when we went to press.

Group A: Bangladesh 0-3 Malaysia

Bangladesh

0-3

Malaysia

Fri 25 Sept, Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta · Arif Aiman 18′, 38′; Bergson da Silva 52′

The tournament’s first game went exactly as the rankings said it would. Malaysia, 45 places above Bangladesh, were two up by half-time through Arif Aiman, who finished calmly inside the box after 18 minutes and again seven minutes before the interval. Bergson da Silva, one of three Johor Darul Ta’zim players making a senior debut alongside Manuel Hidalgo and Brad Tapp, turned in a left-wing cross seven minutes after the restart.

Bangladesh, under Thomas Dooley, did not manage a shot on target in the first half. Their best moment came on 76 minutes, when Hamza Choudhury was denied twice by Haziq Nadzli, and Fergus Tierney hit the Malaysia crossbar late on. Dooley started Sohel Rana as captain and left the regular skipper, Jamal Bhuyan, on the bench.

Thomas Dooley, Bangladesh coach (to Daily Waadaa): “You could see the quality of the players they have up front — it’s just a different level… Overall, I’m okay with the game, and we’re here to learn.”

Tan Cheng Hoe, Malaysia interim coach (to Media Selangor): “There are certain areas the team needs to improve, especially in transition, because sometimes we lose the ball too easily.”

The tables, and what they mean

This is the whole point of the format, and it is brutal. There are no semi-finals and no best runners-up. Win the group or you are, at best, playing for bronze. That turns both of this week’s headline games into de facto semi-finals.

In Group A, Malaysia and Indonesia meet at the Gelora Bung Karno on Monday night with three points each. Whoever wins goes into the final round needing only to beat Bangladesh or Singapore. A draw keeps both alive and makes goal difference, where Malaysia lead by one, a live issue.

In Group B the maths is the same, only more pointed for us. Beat Vietnam on Tuesday and Thailand would need a result against the Philippines on Friday to reach the final. Lose, and they would need Vietnam to slip against Pakistan, which nobody should bank on. A draw sends it to the final day, where Thailand’s three-goal head start on goal difference could count for a great deal, depending on how the tie-breakers are applied.

Round 2 to watch

Thailand v Vietnam, Tuesday 29 September, 19:30. This is the one. Vietnam won the ASEAN Championship final 4-2 on aggregate in August, their second straight final win over Thailand, and Kim Sang-sik has already said he has started working on Hudson’s side. Thailand come in with the better goal difference and the fresher-looking attack; Vietnam may come in without Xuân Son. If Thailand want to prove this summer was a blip rather than a pattern, there will not be a better stage before the final itself.

Malaysia v Indonesia, Monday 28 September, 19:30. The other de facto semi-final, at the Gelora Bung Karno. Tan Cheng Hoe has told his players to “ride the roar”. They will need to.

Singapore v Bangladesh, Monday 28 September, 16:00. The guide flagged conflicting reports about this venue. Bangladesh and Singapore outlets now agree it is in Jakarta, at the Gelora Bung Karno. Singapore, probably without Safuwan, have to win.

Philippines v Pakistan, Tuesday 29 September, 16:00. Anything less than a clear Philippines win would be a surprise, but Pakistan’s first half against Thailand suggests they won’t simply fold.

The full team-by-team guide, with squads, probable XIs and every fixture, is in our FIFA ASEAN Cup preview. Jump straight to Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia or Indonesia.

Sources: Dawn — Pakistan 0-4 Thailand, Daily Times — Pakistan 0-4 Thailand, Express Tribune — Pakistan suffer ASEAN Cup defeat, Samaa — Pakistan lose 4-0, Matichon — Hudson after Pakistan, Daily News — Thailand 4-0 Pakistan, PPTV — Thailand 4-0 Pakistan, VnExpress — Vietnam 1-0 Philippines, Tiebreaker Times — Philippines narrow loss to Vietnam, Thanh Niên — Kim Sang-sik press conference, Vietnam.vn — Kim on Xuân Son’s injury, VnExpress — Indonesia 2-0 Singapore, VOI — Indonesia 2-0 Singapore, Malay Mail — Indonesia beat Singapore, AsiaOne — Gavin Lee after Indonesia, Liputan6 — Herdman on Romeny, CNN Indonesia — Herdman’s first words, The Sun — Malaysia 3-0 Bangladesh, Prothom Alo — Bangladesh 0-3 Malaysia, Daily Star — Bangladesh outclassed, Daily Waadaa — Dooley after Malaysia, Media Selangor — Tan Cheng Hoe after Bangladesh, Malay Mail — Cheng Hoe: “ride the roar”, Dhaka Tribune — Bangladesh fixtures and venues, Little Big Red Dot — Singapore fixtures, New Straits Times — Vietnam win the ASEAN Championship 4-2 on aggregate, Daily News — watching on FIFA+, Matichon — FIFA+ geo-restrictions, Bangkok Biz News — no Thai rights holder