On Tuesday, either Indonesia or Vietnam will be crowned champions of the ASEAN U-23 Championship -- officially known as the ASEAN U-23 Mandiri Cup 2025.
For Indonesia, such a triumph would simply see them deliver on their promise and live up to the expectations that come not only from being the host nation, but also as the next generation of a rising force that is surely and not-so-slowly climbing up the rungs of the Asian football ladder.
Never mind the fact that Indonesia have long had to endure the tag of being Southeast Asia's nearly men.
Despite being one of the region's traditional powerhouses, Indonesia are yet to lift the senior ASEAN Championship and have the painful statistic of a record six runners-up finishes.
They will instead point to the fact that they were the only team from the region to reach the third round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup -- effectively making them one of the continent's top 18 teams.
They have since marched on to October's fourth round. Qualification for the World Cup -- for the first time since 1938 when they were still known as the Dutch East Indies -- is not beyond them although they face tough tests in Jeddah against Group B hosts Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
- Catch all the ASEAN U-23 Championship action live on the ASEAN United FC YouTube channel here!
But Indonesia's resurgence has been aided by an influx of naturalised heritage players. Their eligibility to represent Merah Putih is irrefutable given they boast either parents or grandparents from the country but it is equally undeniable that their development in some of Europe's strongest nations has led to an instant improvement in Indonesia's prowess.
Apart from instant hero Jens Raven, who is still only 19 but has scored seven goals at the U-23 Championship from just three starts, all of Indonesia's squad at the tournament have learned their trade domestically -- even mixed-heritage players such as Brandon Scheunemann and Victor Dethan.
Going all the way and winning the competition would be proof that, while they will continue to benefit from obtaining ready-made talent from abroad, the local pipeline remains in full flow -- producing the next generation of prospects such as Marselino Ferdinan, Pratama Arhan and Rizky Ridho, who were all key figures in Indonesia's initial rise despite their precocious years -- and that their long-term prospects are not solely dependent on whether or not they can continually find more heritage players from overseas.
A rather important component for a team who are not only looking to make the next World Cup, but many to follow.
Vietnam, on the other hand, have the chance to make their own case that they remain the dominant powers in Southeast Asia with a history-making third consecutive title, which would go perfectly hand-in-hand with the senior team's latest ASEAN Championship success at the start of the year.
When it comes to bringing through local talent, Vietnam have potentially been the standard bearers for eight years now.
It started when what proved to be a golden generation finished as runners-up in the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship (now AFC U-23 Asian Cup), which was followed later that year by a fourth-place finish at the Asian Games where they were only eliminated in the semifinals by a South Korea side boasting the likes of Kim Min-Jae, Hwang Hee-Chan and a certain Son Heung-Min, who was fielded as one of three permitted overage players.
That group of players largely formed the nucleus of subsequent sides that won the ASEAN Championship in 2018, claimed back-to-back Southeast Asian Games gold medals in 2019 and 2021, while also recording a memorable quarterfinal appearance at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
It was also Vietnam who were Southeast Asia's sole representatives in the third and final round of qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, back when only 12 teams got that far.
Of course, Indonesia will identify their World Cup qualifying exploits as evidence they are now the top dogs of the region. Their group-stage exit at the last ASEAN Championship also comes with the disclaimer that they opted to field an inexperienced squad.
Not that Vietnam will care.
For them, they will find equal value in the tournaments where there are simple outright battles between teams within Southeast Asia.
Back in January, their senior team came out on top.
Six months on, they will be hoping for their U-23s to do the same.
Depending on who wins on Tuesday, it will give either further belief that they continue to be on the right path.