Host country Vietnam Venue(s) 2 (in 2 host cities) Runners-up Vietnam | Teams 8 Champions Singapore (1st title) | |
Dates 26 August – 5 September | ||
The 1998 AFF Championship, sponsored by Asia Pacific Breweries and officially known as the 1998 Tiger Cup, was the second edition of the AFF Championship and was held in Vietnam. Group A's matches were played in Ho Chi Minh City with Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Philippines. Group B's matches were played in Hanoi with Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Laos.
Contents
Qualification
Four teams qualified directly to the finals.
Four teams qualified via the qualification process.
Final tournament
Goalscorers
Team statistics
This table will show the ranking of teams throughout the tournament.
Controversy
This tournament was marred by an unsportsmanlike match between Thailand and Indonesia during the group stage. Both teams were already assured of qualification for the semi-finals, but both teams also knew that the winners of the game would face hosts Vietnam in the semi-finals, while the losing team would face surprise group winners Singapore, who were perceived to be easier opposition, and would also avoid the inconvenience of moving the team's training base from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi for the semi-finals. The first half saw little action, with both teams barely making any attempt to score. During the second half both teams managed to score, resulting in a 2–2 score after 90 minutes. During injury time, despite two Thai defenders attempting to stop him, Indonesian defender Mursyid Effendi deliberately scored an own goal, handing Thailand a 3–2 victory. FIFA fined both teams $40,000 for "violating the spirit of the game", while Mursyid was banned from domestic football for one year and international football for life. In the semi-finals, Thailand lost to Vietnam, and Indonesia lost to Singapore. In the final, the title was to elude the hosts, as they went down 1–0 to unfancied Singapore in one of the competition's biggest shocks to date.