Vietnam

South Vietnamese dominance (1956–1975)

Following the division of Vietnam in 1954, the Republic of Vietnam national team served as Vietnam's representative in matches against Thailand until 1975, as North Vietnam primarily played against other communist countries and never faced Thailand.

The first friendlies between the two sides in April 1956 saw South Vietnam record 2–1 and 3–1 victories over Thailand, respectively, marking the beginning of their competitive rivalry.

One of the earliest significant encounters between the two sides came at the inaugural Southeast Asian Peninsular Games in Bangkok on 13 December 1959. South Vietnam defeated Thailand 4–0 in the group stage and, four days later, 3–1 in the final to win the gold medal.Further encounters throughout the 1960s reinforced South Vietnam's dominance, including a 3–0 victory over Thailand in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup qualification on 14 December 1963 in Saigon and a 5–0 victory over Thailand in the semi-final of the 1967 SEAP Games on 14 December 1967 in Bangkok. Thailand nevertheless enjoyed occasional successes, including a 2–1 victory in the group stage of the 1965 SEAP Games in Kuala Lumpur, followed by a 2–0 win in the semi-final of the same tournament.

The pattern persisted into the early 1970s, with South Vietnam generally maintaining the advantage over Thailand. Thailand's most significant success during this period came on 21 March 1975, when they defeated South Vietnam 4–0 in Bangkok during the 1976 AFC Asian Cup qualification. The match also marked the final meeting between the two sides before the reunification of Vietnam.

Thai dominance (1995–2016)

In 1991, Vietnam returned to international football. The Thailand and Vietnam national football teams first met in the post-reunification era at the 1995 SEA Games in Chiang Mai, where Vietnam suffered a 3–1 defeat in the group stage on 10 December 1995. Six days later, they suffered a 4–0 defeat to Thailand in the final of that edition of the SEA Games. During this period, Thailand generally held the upper hand over Vietnam, with notable victories including a 4–0 victory over Vietnam in the semi-final of the 2002 AFF Championship in Jakarta, which remains Vietnam's heaviest defeat in ASEAN Championship history, and a 3–0 win in Hanoi during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. Despite this, Vietnam also recorded several significant victories, including a 3–0 win over Thailand in the semi-final of the 1998 AFF Championship, which also remains Thailand's heaviest defeat in ASEAN Championship history, and a 2–1 win over Thailand in Bangkok in the first leg of the 2008 AFF Championship final, which helped Vietnam win the 2008 AFF Championship following a 1–1 draw in the second leg, secured by Lê Công Vinh's goal in the 90+3th minute.

A rivalry of equals and the Vietnamese emergence (2017–present)

In October 2017, the appointment of Park Hang-seo as head coach marked a significant turning point for Vietnam's national football team. Vietnam recorded its first victory over Thailand in 11 years with a 1–0 win at the 2019 King's Cup in Chang Arena thanks to a late goal by Nguyễn Anh Đức. During this period, Vietnam and Thailand have both consistently ranked among the top two teams in Southeast Asia in the FIFA World Rankings. Other notable encounters included the two matches during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 2019, both of which ended in goalless draws. In the semi-finals of the 2020 AFF Championship, Thailand won 2–0 on aggregate, with both goals coming in the first leg through Chanathip Songkrasin. Thailand and Vietnam met again in the 2022 AFF Championship final, where Thailand won 3–2 on aggregate, with Theerathon Bunmathan scoring the decisive goal in the second leg at Thammasat Stadium. They faced each other once more in the 2024 ASEAN Championship final, where Vietnam won 5–3 on aggregate after winning both legs, with Nguyễn Xuân Son scoring a brace in the first leg in Việt Trì and Nguyễn Hai Long scoring a late goal in the second at Rajamangala Stadium. As of 2026, the rivalry has seen three consecutive ASEAN Championship final meetings between the two teams, in 2022, 2024 and 2026.