Vietnam fall behind Thailand in world football ranking

The defeat to Iraq on Wednesday cost Vietnam 11.32 points in the ranking. Previously, the team lost 6.47 points after losing to Japan and 23.26 points after losing to Indonesia. The three defeats at the Asian Cup took away 41.06 points from Vietnam, leaving them with 1,194.52 points and pushing them down in the ranking.

In January, Vietnam had ranked 94th with 1,235.58 points, among the top 15 in Asia and number one in Southeast Asia. But after the Cup, the team fell to 19th in Asia and number two in Southeast Asia.

Thailand, who earned 30.72 points after two draws and a win at the tournament, climbed to 101st on the ranking with 1,206.7 points.

This is the first time in two years that Vietnam has fallen out of the global top 100. The last time was in January 2022 when they lost to Australia at the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. They came back less than a month later thanks to a 3-1 victory over China.

The team won’t be able to return to top 100 until at least March, as they have no match to play in February. Even if teams in the top 100 lose their next matches, they will not lose enough points to place behind Vietnam.

The last time Vietnam placed outside the top 100 was in October 2018, at 102nd. A month later, coach Park Hang-seo brought the team back to the top 100 and they stayed there for 63 consecutive months.

The last time Vietnam didn’t top Southeast Asia was in November 2017, when the team were 125th on world ranking and Philippines 118th. Vietnam then topped Southeast Asia for 75 consecutive months.

The world ranking is used for seeding teams in FIFA tournaments such as the World Cup and Asian Cup. Vietnam will have the chance to improve their position with two matches against Indonesia in the second round of World Cup qualifiers in March.