After eliminating Indonesia, Australia will face Thailand in the 2026 AFF U-19 Cup Final.

The final match of the AFF U-19 Cup 2026, also officially titled the ASEAN Boys Championship 2026, will finally pit the two strongest teams of the tournament against one another. Australia will face Thailand in the grand final, after both sides successfully navigated their semi-final fixtures held at North Sumatra Main Stadium, Deli Serdang.

Australia sealed their final spot after edging past tournament hosts Indonesia 1-0 on Thursday evening. Meanwhile Thailand advanced in far more convincing fashion, sweeping Cambodia aside with a dominant 4-0 scoreline just hours earlier.

Australia did not secure this victory easily. Richard Garcia's side came up against fierce resistance from the young Garuda Squad, who maintained tight, disciplined defensive organisation for the full duration of the match.

The match was played at high tempo straight from kickoff. In front of a 22,628 strong crowd that filled North Sumatra Main Stadium, both teams pressed aggressively and created regular dangerous attacking opportunities.

The scoreline remained deadlocked at 0-0 when Kyrgyz match official Bainazarrov Alimardom blew the half-time whistle.

Entering the second half, Indonesia head coach Nova Arianto attempted to inject greater attacking impetus by making multiple personnel changes.

Theodore Evan Leeming, Nazriel Alfaro Syahdan and Eizar Jacob Tanjung were withdrawn, with Reno Salampessy, Jardim and Amar Rayhan Brkic introduced in their place.

These adjustments soon began to have a positive impact on Indonesia's forward play. In the 66th minute, Amar Rayhan Brkic broke through onto a through ball from midfield, but was unable to convert this clear goalscoring chance.

Indonesia created another golden opportunity in the 79th minute. Dimas Adi Prasetyo received a perfectly weighted pass from Amar Rayhan Brkic, but his first time flicked finish drifted wide of the right hand post of Australia's goal.

Just as the match appeared certain to head into extra time, Australia finally broke the deadlock. In the 88th minute, Marcus Edward Neil fired past the Indonesian Goalkeeper to put the Young Socceroos 1-0 ahead.

This would stand as the only goal of the match, confirming Australia's place in the tournament final. The 1-0 scoreline remained until the full time whistle was blown.

After the match, Nova Arianto still expressed full pride and appreciation for his players' efforts. He noted that the squad had shown clear positive progression despite the defeat.

"Our focus now shifts to the third place play-off against Cambodia. This whole tournament will provide crucial evaluation for us to improve ahead of the upcoming AFC U-19 Asian Cup preliminary qualifiers," stated Nova.

From the Australian camp, Richard Garcia voiced satisfaction at reaching the final, acknowledging that his side had been forced to work extremely hard for the result.

"We kept working relentlessly to unpick the opposition defence for the entire match, and that effort only finally paid off right at the very end," he commented.

Thailand Progress To The Final

Elsewhere, Thailand produced a completely dominant performance against Cambodia in the second semi-final. The Young War Elephants booked their place in the showpiece match with a comprehensive 4-0 victory.

Thailand opened the scoring through Natthakit Phosri in the 32nd minute. Their lead was doubled on the stroke of half time, when Itthimon Tippanet found the net during first half stoppage time.

Cambodia's task became effectively impossible after they were reduced to 10 players following a straight red card in the 61st minute. Thailand duly capitalised on this numerical advantage to sustain constant attacking pressure.

Thailand extended their advantage to 3-0 via a headed finish from Tippanet in the 80th minute. Shortly before full time, an own goal from Udom Sean confirmed the 4-0 rout.

Thailand will face Australia in the 2026 AFF U-19 Cup final at North Sumatra Main Stadium on Saturday 13 June, with kickoff scheduled for 20.15 WIB.

Prior to the grand final, Indonesia will face Cambodia in the third place play-off match, which will kick off at 16.00 WIB.

For Young Garuda, this fixture represents an opportunity to end the tournament on a positive note, as well as gain valuable competitive preparation ahead of their next major commitment: the AFC U-19 Asian Cup preliminary qualification round.