Vietnam and Thailand achieve unprecedented feat in 20 years

Southeast Asian football witnesses a historic milestone as Vietnam and Thailand both enter FIFA's top 100 rankings after over 20 years.

According to the latest FIFA rankings released after the March 2026 FIFA Days matches, Vietnam's national team surged to the 99th position globally. This is an extremely impressive leap as "The Golden Star Warriors" climbed 9 spots, becoming the team with the highest ranking increase worldwide in this update. Moreover, Vietnam's team also leads the world in accumulated points with an increase of up to 36.17 points, the highest figure among national teams.

This achievement stems from a series of positive results in March. Coach Kim Sang-sik's squad successively defeated Bangladesh 3-0 in a friendly match before overcoming Malaysia 3-1 in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Additionally, being awarded wins in some previous matches also helped Vietnam gain significant points, creating a remarkable breakthrough on the rankings.

In the Southeast Asian region, Thailand continues to maintain its leading position by standing at the 93rd global spot, 6 ranks higher than Vietnam. The simultaneous presence of both teams in FIFA's top 100 rankings has not occurred since October 2004, the last time both Vietnam and Thailand were part of this group.

On a regional scale, the achievements of Vietnam and Thailand become even more prominent as the rest of Southeast Asia remains at a considerable distance. Indonesia currently sits outside the top 120, while Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore are ranked significantly lower. This demonstrates the clear superiority of the two leading football nations in the region at present.

Notably, Vietnam's journey back to the top 100 was not easy. The team once dropped to the 119th global position by late 2024 following a series of unsatisfactory results. However, since Coach Kim Sang-sik took over, the team has gradually stabilized and improved its performance. The impressive streak of matches recently has been the foundation helping Vietnam reclaim its position among the world's top 100 teams.