The men's football tournament at the 2021 SEA Games was held from 6 – 22 May 2022 in Vietnam. Ten Southeast Asian nations participated in the men's tournament. The group stage and semi-finals were played in Việt Trì and Nam Định, while Hanoi hosted the bronze and gold medal matches. Men's teams are restricted to under-23 players (born on or after 1 January 1999) with a maximum of three over-aged players allowed.[1]
The tournament was won by Vietnam, who won their second title as a unified nation, having previously won it in 2019, and their third title in total, by beating Thailand 1–0 in the final. This victory also let Vietnam became the Gold Medal team that never concede any goal in the tournament for the first (and also the only team) time ever. Indonesia won the bronze medal after defeating Malaysia on penalties.
Competition schedule
The following is the competition schedule for the men's football competition:[2]
G
Group stage
½
Semifinals
B
3rd place play-off
F
Final
Event
Fri 6
Sat 7
Sun 8
Mon 9
Tue 10
Wed 11
Thu 12
Fri 13
Sat 14
Sun 15
Mon 16
Tue 17
Wed 18
Thu 19
Fri 20
Sat 21
Sun 22
Men
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
½
B
F
Venues
Three venues were used during the tournament, two of them outside of Hanoi at cities around Vietnam. Mỹ Đình National Stadium hosted the Bronze medal match and the Gold medal Match.
The draw for the tournament was held on 6 April 2022. 10 teams were seeded into 5 pots based on their performance in the previous two editions. The host, also the defending champion, Vietnam was automatically assigned into position A1. Thailand, as the champion in 2017, was assigned into position B1.[2]
^Hữu Vượng. "Bóng đá nam SEA Games 31 chốt độ tuổi tham dự: HLV Park Hang Seo có thêm lựa chọn". Thể Thao (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 22 March 2022.
^ abNhật Duy; Đăng Khoa (22 March 2022). "Việt Nam và Thái Lan là hạt giống của SEA Games 31". Thanh Niên Online (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 22 March 2022.