This rise can be attributed to their victories over Hong Kong (China) and Syria in friendly matches played during recent FIFA Days. Accordingly, the Vietnamese team will add a further 8.54 points to reach a total of 1238.23 points.

The Vietnamese team are therefore likely to continue topping teams in Southeast Asia, whilst being placed 15th in Asia.

Thailand rank second in Southeast Asia with 1174.37 points, followed by the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

In terms of the current rankings, the Vietnamese national team is placed in seed group No. 2, or Pot 2, for the qualifiers of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the draw set to be held on July 27.

By being among the world’s top 100 and Asia’s top 20 teams, the Vietnamese national team won’t need to take part in the play-off round to progress through to the group stage of the qualifiers for both the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

All 36 teams in the region are set to be divided into nine groups, with the best two teams making it through to the third qualification round of the Asian region for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and making the finals of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

Moving forward, Vietnam is scheduled to compete in World Cup qualifiers from mid-November to June, 2024.