Vietnam and Indonesia dropped, while Thailand rose four places in the FIFA rankings after the October 2024 matches.
Vietnam only lost 0.27 points after the 1-1 draw with India on October 12, leaving them with 1,161.11 points. However, the team dropped three places to 119th due to the strong progress of three African teams, namely Comoros (from 118 to 108), Sudan (from 120 to 110) and Zimbabwe (124 to 117).
In the four most recent FIFA rankings in April, June, July and September, Vietnam hovered around 115th and 116th. Compared to October 2023, Vietnam dropped 25 places.
Vietnamese players were disappointed after the 1-1 draw with India on October 12 at Thien Truong Stadium. Photo: Lam Thoa
Vietnam players were disappointed after the 1-1 friendly draw with India on October 12 at Thien Truong Stadium. Photo: Lam Thoa
The 119th position is the lowest since November 2017, when the team was ranked 125th. After that, mainly under Park Hang-seo, Vietnam remained in the top 100 from November 2018 to January 2024. However, three straight defeats in the group stage of the Asian Cup earlier this year saw the team drop to 115th in February.
Indonesia drew 1-1 with Bahrain, but lost 1-2 to China in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The team was docked 5.3 points and is expected to drop one place to 130th.
Meanwhile, thanks to a 3-1 win over the Philippines and a 2-1 win over Syria, Thailand were awarded 8.7 points to move up four places to 96th. This is Thailand's highest position in 16 years, when it was 93rd in June 2008. In between, Thailand was at its lowest, 165th in October 2014. The 23-place gap with Vietnam is also the largest between the two sides since September 2021, when Vietnam ranked 95 and Thailand was 122.
Vietnam could continue to fall as there is no official friendly match scheduled for November. Instead, the team will train in South Korea to prepare for the 2024 AFF Cup. Indonesia also faced difficulties when they met Japan and Saudi Arabia in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.
Thailand celebrated the 2024 Kings Cup championship after beating the Philippines 3-1 and Syria 2-1. Photo: FAT
Thailand celebrated the 2024 King's Cup championship after beating the Philippines 3-1 and Syria 2-1. Photo: FAT
Southeast Asia saw Malaysia drop one place to 133 (losing 0-4 to New Zealand), while the Philippines rose three places to 145 (winning 3-0 to Tajikistan). The other teams are Singapore (162), Myanmar (165), Cambodia (180), Brunei (184), Laos (187) and Timor Leste (196).
The top six in the world remained unchanged, with Argentina, France, Spain, England, Brazil and Belgium remaining in that order. Portugal moved up to seventh place, replacing the Netherlands, while Italy moved up to ninth, replacing Colombia. In the top 50, Tunisia dropped 11 places to 47th, having suffered the most deductions of 26.34 points after losing 0-1 and drawing 1-1 with Comoros, a team not ranked in the top 100.
The FIFA rankings were first released in December 1992, and are usually published every one to two months. Each team is awarded points based on the importance coefficient of the match. Friendly matches according to the FIFA schedule only have a coefficient of 10, while Asian Cup matches before the quarter-finals are 35, after the quarter-finals are 40. In addition to the match results, the formula also depends on the calculation of the expected result, which is understood as the difference in strength between the two teams. If the two teams are ranked further apart in the previous FIFA rankings, the lower-ranked team will be awarded more points when they win, and deduct less points when they lose.
The FIFA ranking is important, because it is considered the basis for seeding in the qualifying rounds and finals of FIFA tournaments, such as the World Cup and Asian Cup. However, it is not an absolute measure to affirm the strength and position of the team.
