Vietnam narrows gap with Thailand in FIFA rankings

The 2024 FIFA rankings close on December 18, 2024. At that time, Vietnam will win over Laos and Indonesia, moving up 2 places to 114th place.

The team then played six more matches to win the championship, including a 1-1 draw with the Philippines, a 5-0 win over Myanmar in the group stage, 2-0 and 3-1 wins over Singapore in the semi-finals, and 2-1 and 3-2 wins over Thailand in the final.

This achievement is expected to help Vietnam gain an additional 10.22 points to move up two more places to 112th place in the next ranking review in February 2025.

Meanwhile, Thailand is expected to drop one place to 98th due to a deduction of 6.05 points with a record of 3 losses and 2 wins. The "War Elephants" won 3-2 against Cambodia in the group stage, lost 1-2 to the Philippines in the first leg, and then won 3-1 in extra time in the second leg of the semi-finals. In the final, the team lost 2 matches to Vietnam.

In October 2024, the two teams were 25 places apart on the FIFA rankings, with Thailand ranked 96th and Vietnam 119th. But now, the gap has narrowed to 14.

The two teams will return to action in March in the final qualifying round for the 2027 Asian Cup. Thailand will face Sri Lanka in Group D, while Vietnam will face Laos in Group F.

In addition to Vietnam and Thailand, Southeast Asian teams will also have changes in the February FIFA rankings. Indonesia dropped three places to 130, Malaysia remained at 132, and the Philippines rose three places to 147.

The following teams maintained their positions as Singapore (161), Myanmar (169), Cambodia (180), Brunei (184), Laos (186) and Timor Leste (197).

The FIFA rankings are important because they are considered the basis for seeding in the qualifying and final rounds of FIFA tournaments, such as the World Cup and Asian Cup. However, they are not an absolute measure to confirm the strength and position of a team.