Thailand beat Malaysia in semis to set up SEA Games football final showdown with Vietnam

Yotsakorn Burapha celebrates after scoring the only goal for Thailand against Malaysia in the 33rd SEA Games men's football semi-final on Dec. 15, 2025. Photo by FAT

Despite playing with a man advantage for the vast majority of the match on Monday night, Thailand struggled to dominate a resilient Malaysia in a surprisingly tender atmosphere at Rajamangala Stadium, with not many home fans coming to watch the game. The mood in the stands reflected the disappointment of the Thailand women's team's semi-final loss to the Philippines earlier in the tournament, putting more pressure on this game.

Thailand got off to a dream start in the eighth minute when Yotsakon Burapha curled home an excellent free-kick to give the hosts the lead.

The free kick came after a powerful run by Iklas Sanron that forced Malaysia's Nabil Yusuf to make a foul and receive his first yellow card. Disaster struck for the visitors just eight minutes later. Yusuf received a second yellow for another foul on Sanron in midfield, a decision deemed harsh by many, as the challenge appeared to be not dangerous at all.

Reduced to 10 men for 74 minutes, Malaysia faced an uphill battle. However, after scoring Thailand opted for a slower tempo. This allowed Malaysia to fight back and create several dangerous chances before halftime that forced Thailand goalkeeper Chomphat Boonlert to work to preserve the 1-0 lead.

In the second half, with nothing to lose, Malaysia went all out, pushing forward with well-coordinated attacks. Thailand sat deep to wait until fatigue set in for the visitors before launching the counterattacks. The hosts' clearest opportunity to seal the game came in the 70th minute when Yotsakon Burapha beat the defenders with two feints, only to fire wide of the post.

Thailand squandered several more chances in the final 20 minutes and struggled to hold the lead as Malaysia desperately pulled several last attempts to seek an equalizer.

After the hard-fought win, Thailand will now face Vietnam in the gold medal match on Dec. 18 at Rajamangala Stadium.

This final offers Thailand a shot at redemption. The hosts have lost the last two SEA Games finals, 0-1 to Vietnam in 2022 (delayed from 2021 due to Covid-19) and 2-5 to Indonesia in 2023. They now view this home fixture as a great opportunity to end an eight-year gold medal drought at the SEA Games men’s football event.

 

 

Thailand beat Malaysia in semis to set up SEA Games football final showdown with Vietnam

Thai Malaysia