In November 2024, the Vietnamese team, known as the "Golden Star Warriors," neither participated in any official matches nor earned additional points, maintaining their score of 1,161. 

However, they unexpectedly rose three places to rank 116th in the FIFA standings. 

This improvement was due to teams ranked nearby, such as Zimbabwe and Guinea-Bissau, performing poorly and dropping four places each.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia made a significant leap by climbing five places to rank 125th. This achievement came after a historic victory by coach Shin Tae Yong’s team over Saudi Arabia in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which earned them an additional 16.24 points.

Thailand remains the highest-ranked team in the ASEAN region but has dropped one spot to 97th after two underwhelming draws against lower-ranked teams, Laos and Lebanon.

Globally, Japan leads the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) at 15th in the FIFA rankings. Iran has overtaken South Korea to claim second place in Asia, while Australia and Qatar both dropped two positions, ranking fourth and fifth, respectively, within the continent.

At the international level, reigning world champions Argentina continue to top the FIFA rankings. The next four positions remain unchanged, with France, Spain, England, and Brazil following.

Portugal and the Netherlands each climbed one spot, pushing Belgium to eighth. Italy and Germany complete the top ten.

The rise in rankings provides a morale boost for the Vietnamese team as they prepare for the 2024 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup.

The team will aim to build on this momentum to secure strong performances in the tournament.

Thien Binh