Based on previous records, Indonesia had reached the AFF Championship final four times, finishing runners-up in all attempts. Thailand had reached the AFF Championship final seven times and had won the tournament four times. The two sides last met on 7 December 2010 in the group stage of the 2010 AFF Championship. Indonesia, who began the 2016 AFF Championship as one of the favourites, was ranked 179 in the FIFA World Rankings and tenth among AFF teams while Thailand was ranked 146 overall and fourth among AFF teams. Thailand entered the 2016 AFF Championship as four-time ASEAN champions. Thailand was first crowned champions of ASEAN in the 1996 that was held in Singapore with a final score of 1–0 against Malaysia. In the 2000, Thailand taking home the title through a 4–1 victory against Indonesia. In the 2002, Thailand won against Indonesia through a penalty shoot-out. In the 2007 and 2008, Thailand reached the final to meet Singapore and Vietnam but however loses in the final games. In the 2012, Thailand again failed after losing by 2–3 on aggregate against Singapore. But in the 2014, Thailand managed to return by winning 4–3 on aggregate against Malaysia. The 2016 final was Indonesia's fifth consecutive time contesting an AFF Championship final, after losing four times against Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
Route to the final
Both Indonesia and Thailand were drawn into Group A of the 2016 AFF Championship, along with powerhouse sides Philippines and Singapore. After winning all three group matches, Thailand finished first in the group. Indonesia finished second in the group to progress to the knockout phase of the tournament. Thailand's first match victory was against Indonesia with a score of 4–2. From there, they continue the path by beating both Singapore and the Philippines by 1–0. Thailand progressed to the semi-finals to face Group B runner-up and subsequent host of Myanmar. In the first-leg in Yangon, Thailand won 2–0 before winning the second-leg in Bangkok by 4–0 with a total aggregate of 6–0. Indonesia's lose their first match against Thailand before drawing 2–2 against the host Philippines. In the third match against Singapore, they won 2–1 before progressing to the semi-finals to face Group B winner of Vietnam. In the first-leg in Bogor, Indonesia won 2–1 before drawing 2–2 in the extra time in the second-leg in Hanoi with a total aggregate of 4–3. Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first.
