Vietnam and Indonesia have dropped while Thailand have risen four places in the latest FIFA rankings following matches played this month.
Vietnam lost just 0.27 points after their 1-1 draw with India in a friendly on 12 October, leaving them with 1,161.11 points. However, they have dropped three places to 119th due to the remarkable progress of three African groups, namely Comoros (from 118th to 108th), Sudan (from 120th to 110th) and Zimbabwe (from 124th to 117th).
In the last four FIFA rankings in April, June, July and September, Vietnam hovered somewhere between 115 and 116. This group has dropped 25 places since October 2023.
The 119th position is their biggest drop since November 2017, when they were ranked 125th. Under coach Park Hang-seo, Vietnam regularly held a place in the top 100 from November 2018 to January 2024. However, three consecutive losses in the recent Asian Cup qualifiers saw the team quickly 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. They were deducted 5.3 points and are likely to drop a down to 130th.
Thailand gained 8.7 points and climbed four places to 96th thanks to wins over the Philippines (3-1) and Syria (2-1) to win the King’s Cup. This is Thailand’s most notable achievement in the past 16 years, when they were ranked 93rd in June 2008. During this time, Thailand dropped to 165th in October 2014.
The 23-place gap between Vietnam and Thailand is the largest gap between the two groups since September 2021, when Vietnam were ranked 95th and Thailand were 122nd.
Vietnam’s slump could continue as they currently have no friendly matches scheduled in November. After all, the team will be in South Korea preparing for the 2024 AFF Cup. Indonesia will not have it any easier either, as they will face Japan and Saudi Arabia next in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
In Southeast Asia, Malaysia dropped one place to 133rd after a 0-4 loss to New Zealand, while The Philippines moved up three places to 145th after a 3-0 win over Tajikistan. The other groups include Singapore (162nd), Myanmar (165th), Cambodia (180th), Brunei (184th), Laos (187th) and Timor-Leste (196th).
The world’s top six remain the same, with Argentina, France, Spain, England, Brazil and Belgium at the top. Portugal climbed to seventh, replacing the Netherlands, while Italy moved up to 10th, replacing Colombia. In the top 50, Tunisia dropped 11 places to 47th, losing the most points (26.34) after a 1-0 loss and 1-1 draw against Comoros, a group outside the top 100.
The FIFA rankings were first published in December 1992 and are released every one to two months. The weight of each group is determined by the importance of the match. FIFA-pre-match friendlies have a weighted component of 10, while Asian Cup matches before the quarter-finals have a component of 35 and matches after the quarter-finals have a variable of 40. In addition to match results, the estimate is based on normal results, which considers the power gap between the two groups. The further apart the two groups are in the rankings, the more attention the lower-ranked group receives when they win and the fewer points they lose when they lose.
The FIFA rankings are important in determining seeding in qualifying and final matches of FIFA-related competitions, such as the World Cup and Asian Cup. In any case, they are not a complete indicator of a group’s solidarity and status.