Vietnam National Team unexpectedly receives bad news on the FIFA rankings

Although no points were deducted, Vietnam’s national team still dropped 2 places in the latest FIFA rankings.

Vietnam’s national team decided not to play any official international friendlies in September. Therefore, the "Golden Dragons" points on the FIFA ranking will definitely remain unchanged. However, Vietnam’s position can still fluctuate, either rising or falling, depending on the points gained by nearby teams.

According to the latest update, Vietnam’s national team surprisingly fell 2 spots on the FIFA rankings, from 113th to 115th in the world. This is because Madagascar and Libya, teams close to Vietnam’s ranking, made impressive progress. Madagascar gained 14.69 points, moving up from 115th to 112th, while Libya added 15.41 points, rising from 117th to 114th worldwide.

Vietnam’s national team fell in the FIFA rankings right after a 0-4 loss to Nam Dinh Club on the afternoon of September 4. However, this match was an internal training game and does not count for FIFA ranking points. Only officially recognized international friendlies by FIFA can affect the rankings.

Not playing international matches in September may cause Vietnam to drop further in the rankings as nearby competitors have chances to increase their points. In Southeast Asia, top teams like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand are expected to improve their FIFA rankings by playing official friendlies during the FIFA Days in September.

According to the plan, on September 7, Vietnam’s national team will have another training match against a strong opponent, Hanoi Police Club – the current 2024/25 National Cup champions and a representative in the AFC Champions League Two 2025/26.

The 0-4 loss for Vietnam was not surprising since Thep Xanh Nam Dinh has a superior foreign player lineup aiming for a high ranking in the AFC Champions League Two 2025/26.

However, for Vietnam’s national team, this match serves as an important and useful test, helping the coaching staff assess performance, adaptability, and experiment with the lineup in preparation for the final round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.