Vietnam temporarily lost the top position in Southeast Asia to Thailand.

According to FIFA's scoring formula, the 2-3 loss to Iraq cost Vietnam 11.32 points. Previously, coach Philippe Troussier's team was docked 6.32 points for their loss to Japan and lost another 23.26 points for their defeat to Indonesia.

In total, the Vietnamese team lost 41.06 points, leaving them with only 1194.52 points and dropping to 105th place on the FIFA rankings. The Thai team is currently ranked 102nd with good results at the 2023 Asian Cup and regaining the No. 1 position in Southeast Asia.

The recent draw against Oman helped coach Ishii Masatada and his team gain 3.98 points, rising to 102nd place in the world with 1198.86 points.

Vietnam team did not play well at Asian Cup 2023.

Because the 2023 Asian Cup takes place at the same time as the African Cup of Nations (CAN Cup), some teams from the black continent have also shown impressive progress and affected the ranking of the Vietnamese team. Coach Troussier and his team have continuously dropped in rank partly due to the good performance of the teams ranked nearby.

The Vietnamese team has been leading Southeast Asia and surpassing the Thai team in the FIFA rankings since December 2017. At that time, the team led by coach Park Hang Seo ranked 112th, 18 places higher than the Thai team.

In fact, in the previous few months, the Thai team was still ranked below the Vietnamese team, but the Vietnamese team had not yet won the number 1 position in Southeast Asia from the Philippines.

However, the Vietnamese team can quickly improve its ranking if it plays well in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. In March 2024, Coach Troussier and his team will meet the Indonesian team twice. A victory can help the Vietnamese team gain more than 15 points after 2 matches and return to the top 100.

On January 25, the Thai team will meet the Saudi Arabian team. If they lose heavily to the West Asian representative, the Thai team could lose many points and be ranked below the Vietnamese team. The gap between the two teams is now only 4.34 points.

Mai Phuong

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