Malaysian media highlights concerning signs for Vietnam's national team ahead of the rematch

Recently, Malaysian media have focused on the changes in Vietnam's FIFA ranking.

According to MakanBola, the latest update from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) shows that Vietnam remains the second-ranked team in Southeast Asia. However, the global ranking of coach Kim Sang-sik’s squad has declined compared to before. MakanBola wrote: “The newest update from FIFA indicates that Vietnam is still the second-best team in Southeast Asia, but their world ranking has dropped. Specifically, coach Kim Sang-sik’s team is now ranked 108th worldwide, slipping one place from the previous FIFA ranking (107th).”

Although it’s only a one-position drop, Malaysian media consider this a notable change amid increasingly fierce competition among Southeast Asian teams. Notably, Malaysia has made significant progress in the FIFA rankings recently.

MakanBola emphasized that Malaysia is now only 14 places behind Vietnam in the global rankings. The "Harimau Malaya" currently holds the 121st spot with 1145.89 points, significantly narrowing the gap with Vietnam, who are ranked 108th.

Meanwhile, Thailand continues to hold the highest rank in Southeast Asia. The "War Elephants" are currently 96th in the world with 1243.47 points, comfortably ahead of Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

MakanBola also gave special attention to Malaysia’s rise. Statistics show Malaysia has climbed 11 places since the January 2025 FIFA update. This is considered a strong advancement since the team came under the leadership of coach Peter Cklamovski, who is steadily making a clear impact on their style and results.

Besides the FIFA ranking story, Malaysian media also directly linked it to the upcoming clash between the two teams. According to the schedule for the final round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, Malaysia and Vietnam will face each other in the last match of Group F. MakanBola stressed: “According to the schedule, Malaysia will meet Vietnam in the final Group F match on March 31, 2026, expected to be held at Thien Truong Stadium.”

Currently, Vietnam is second in Group F with 12 points, three points behind group leader Malaysia. The match at Thien Truong is seen as a crucial showdown, not only directly affecting the group standings but potentially influencing both teams’ FIFA rankings in upcoming updates.