{"id":622752,"date":"2026-10-07T00:08:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T00:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/622752\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T00:08:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T00:08:13","slug":"former-new-zealand-national-coaches-go-head-to-head-in-asean-cup-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/622752\/","title":{"rendered":"Former New Zealand national coaches go head-to-head in ASEAN Cup final"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two coaches with strong ties to New Zealand football were in opposing dugouts in the final of the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup.<\/p>\n

Former Football Ferns head coach John Herdman came out on top, with his Indonesia side beating former All Whites coach Anthony Hudson\u2019s Thailand 4-2 on penalties in Jakarta.<\/p>\n

The teams finished 2-2 after extra time at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, before Indonesia goalkeeper Emil Audero saved Thailand\u2019s decisive fourth penalty.<\/p>\n

\"\"John Herdman \u2026 former Ferns head coach.<\/p>\n

The final brought together the two coaches whose careers have included lengthy spells working within New Zealand\u2019s national team programmes.<\/p>\n

Herdman coached the Football Ferns from 2006\u201311, taking them to the 2007 and 2011 FIFA Women\u2019s World Cups and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.<\/p>\n

Hudson coached the All Whites from 2014\u201317, winning the 2016 OFC Nations Cup and taking New Zealand to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.<\/p>\n

Hudson congratulated Herdman after the final and revealed their paths had crossed several times.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not too close, but we\u2019ve met many times,\u201d Hudson said. \u201cEven when I was coaching the New Zealand national team, we faced each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his Ferns role ended, Herdman left New Zealand for Canada, where he guided their women to Olympic bronze medals in 2012 and 2016.<\/p>\n

Herdman later switched to Canada\u2019s men, leading them to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, their first appearance at the tournament for 36 years.<\/p>\n

After a spell with MLS club Toronto FC, Herdman was appointed Indonesia coach in January 2026.<\/p>\n

He described Indonesia\u2019s ASEAN Cup triumph as a significant moment for his players and the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of the players for what they\u2019ve given to each other and for this country,\u201d Herdman said after the final.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a proud moment for Indonesia, a historic moment in the journey of this nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Anthony Hudson \u2026 former All Whites coach.<\/p>\n

Hudson\u2019s tenure in New Zealand ended after the All Whites lost their intercontinental World Cup play-off against Peru. He subsequently coached Colorado Rapids and served with the United States national programme before working in Qatar and Thailand.<\/p>\n

Hudson became Thailand\u2019s head coach in October 2025, having previously worked as the Football Association of Thailand\u2019s technical director.<\/p>\n

The association demonstrated their faith in Hudson during the ASEAN Cup, extending his contract until February 2028, a year beyond its previous expiry after the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.<\/p>\n

After the final, Hudson publicly defended his players after their shootout defeat, saying he was \u201cproud of the players for everything they gave\u201d after playing the closing stages with 10 men.<\/p>\n

In the lead-up to the ASEAN Cup, Hudson recruited experienced English coach Peter Taylor as an assistant coach.<\/p>\n

Taylor also worked with Hudson in 2016, helping with the New Zealand national squad. Former Eastern Suburbs coach Kane Wintersgill is also part of the Thailand coaching staff.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Former All Whites coaches reunite to lead Thailand at ASEAN Cup<\/a> >>>><\/p>\n

Main photo: John Herdman\u2019s Indonesia side are the first winners of the FIFA ASEAN Cup. Photo credit: FIFA.<\/p>\n

Result<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Game played on Tuesday October 6, 2026 (NZT)<\/p>\n

Indonesia 2 (Dean James 84\u2032, Elkan Baggott 116\u2032)
Thailand 2 (Iklas Sanron 87\u2032, Peeradol Chamrasamee 111\u2032)
*Indonesia won 4-2 on penalties after extra time<\/p>\n

This story was first published on October 7, 2026.<\/p>\n

More football stories<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two coaches with strong ties to New Zealand football were in opposing dugouts in the final of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":622753,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2965,306303,36862,145506,306304,111,43,139,69],"class_list":["post-622752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-all-whites","tag-anthony-hudson","tag-fifa","tag-football-ferns","tag-john-herdman","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/622753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}