Long had performed the celebration during the ASEAN Cup group stage in August when Vietnam defeated Indonesia 3-0. After scoring Vietnam’s second goal, he pointed to the gold badge for the tournament’s defending champions on his sleeve, spreading his arms and pouting.
Although he claimed the celebration was spontaneous instead of intentional, it went viral and was widely perceived as “arrogant” and an assertion of dominance.
Long further fueled the rivalry by writing “Who is the true king of Southeast Asia?” on social media after the match.
Nguyen Hai Long’s celebration after scoring in Vietnam’s 3-0 victory over Indonesia in Group A of the ASEAN Cup, at Pakansari Stadium, Indonesia on Aug. 3, 2026.
Despite not playing in that group-stage match, Hubner sparked an online debate by downplaying Vietnam’s victory as occurring in an unofficial tournament outside the FIFA calendar.
The Dutch-born defender reminded his rivals of Indonesia’s previous 1-0 and 3-0 victories over Vietnam during the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers, remarking that they had forgotten what Indonesia did to them during that tournament.
Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) later had to intervene, requesting Hubner to stop the online verbal sparring and issuing a general reminder to the squad regarding their media conduct.
With the return of Hubner and other European-based players during the FIFA international windows, Indonesia made a strong comeback at the FIFA ASEAN Cup. They secured a 2-0 victory over Singapore, drew 0-0 with Malaysia, and dismantled Bangladesh 9-2 to advance to the final against Thailand.
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Justin Hubner celebrates with the FIFA ASEAN Cup trophy on Oct. 5, 2026. Photo by Instagram/@justinhubner5 |
At the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Indonesia struggled to a 2-2 draw with Thailand after 120 minutes, despite playing with more men from the 81st minute following Nicholas Mickelson’s red card. However, the hosts eventually won 4-2 in the penalty shootout after Thailand midfielder Sarach Yooyen hit the post and Indonesia goalkeeper Emil Audero saved Nattapong Sayriya’s attempt.
The victory marked Indonesia’s first-ever Southeast Asian championship title, ending a painful streak of six runner-up finishes across two eras of the traditional ASEAN Cup, when it bears the names Tiger Cup and AFF Cup.
For Hubner, the title served as an ultimate vindication. After reenacting Long’s celebration, the center-back took to social media to declare Indonesia the true king of Southeast Asian football, along with multiple stories that responded to Vietnamese fans.
“Who is the king? Put some respect on our name,” Hubner wrote.
Justin Hubner celebrates like Nguyen Hai Long after Indonesia won the FIFA ASEAN Cup at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia on Oct. 5, 2026. Video by Instagram/@justinhubner5
He also mentioned the sentence “you talk too much,” which was originally used by Vietnam’s Brazilian-born midfielder Do Hoang Hen during a previous online exchange.
“To all those people, you were my biggest motivation this tournament,” he wrote in another story in response to Vietnamese fans who replied to his stories.
Hubner then downplayed Vietnam’s victory at the traditional ASEAN Cup in August once again.
“They won non-official FIFA tournament, we take the official ones ya.”
Born in 2003 in the Netherlands to an Indonesian father and a Dutch mother, Hubner developed at the Wolverhampton Wanderers academy in England. Following a loan spell at Cerezo Osaka, he joined Fortuna Sittard in the Dutch league in the summer of 2025. The 23-year-old defender has now earned 25 caps for the Indonesia national team.
The 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup was an expanded tournament organized by FIFA, featuring 11 Southeast Asian teams and three guest nations divided into two divisions. Indonesia claimed the Division 1 title over Thailand, and Malaysia secured third place by defeating Vietnam 1-0. In Division 2, host nation Hong Kong claimed the title with a 2-0 victory over Cambodia.