Vietnam striker Pham Tuan Hai (number 10) competes for the ball with Thailand’s Suphanat Mueanta during the second leg of the 2024 ASEAN Cup final at Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand on Jan. 5, 2025. Photo by Read/Hieu Luong |
According to the latest FIFA ranking released on April 1, Thailand sit at 93rd globally, while Vietnam have climbed to 99th. The last time Southeast Asia had two teams simultaneously in the top 100 was in October 2005, when Singapore ranked 95th and Indonesia held the 98th position.
It has been even longer since Thailand and Vietnam were in the top 100 together, in October 2004.
FIFA recognized Vietnam as the most improved team in the latest ranking update. The team led in both positions gained, jumping nine spots, and total points accumulated, adding 36.17 points.
A major factor in this surge was a 3-0 victory awarded over Malaysia from the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying match on June 10, 2025, dismissing Malaysia’s original 4-0 victory for using ineligible foreign players.
Coach Kim Sang-sik’s team earned additional points during the recent international window with a 3-0 friendly win over Bangladesh on March 26, followed by a 3-1 victory against Malaysia in the Asian Cup qualifiers on March 31.
However, this is not the biggest jump for Vietnam in the ranking. In January 2007, the national team climbed 38 places, jumping from 172nd to 134th.
FIFA also confirmed Malaysia suffered the biggest drop in this ranking update, plummeting 17 places to 138th overall. This decline resulted from their recent defeat against Vietnam at Thien Truong Stadium, compounded by a massive naturalization forgery penalty tied to forfeit losses. In total, Malaysia lost 59.67 points.
The latest FIFA ranking is expected to determine the seeding pots for the upcoming 2027 Asian Cup group stage draw. The draw, originally scheduled for April 11 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has been postponed due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Based on current standings, Vietnam and Thailand will be placed in Pot 3 for the draw, which guarantees the two Southeast Asian representatives to avoid facing strong opponents like Bahrain, China, Palestine and Tajikistan in the group stage.
Indonesia and Singapore will be placed in Pot 4.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
Saudi Arabia Japan Iran South Korea Australia Uzbekistan | Qatar Iraq Jordan UAE Oman Syria | Bahrain Thailand China Palestine Vietnam Tajikistan | Kyrgyzstan North Korea Indonesia Kuwait Singapore Lebanon/Yemen |
The 2027 Asian Cup finals are scheduled to take place from Jan. 7 to Feb. 5, 2027, across Saudi Arabia.
The tournament features 24 teams divided into six groups, with the top two teams from each group and the four best third-placed teams advancing to the knockout stages.
In the previous edition of the tournament, Vietnam were eliminated after losing all three group stage matches under coach Philippe Troussier.
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