The result came as little surprise as international football activities at the national team level have been frozen for the last few months due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, causing no shuffle regarding teams’ FIFA rankings.

Vietnam rank among the top 15 in the Asian standings.

Park Hang-seo’s side retain their as position as the no. 1 team in Southeast Asia, followed by Thailand (world no. 113, 1,178 points), the Philippines (world no. 124, 1,136), Myanmar (world no. 136, 1,081) and Malaysia (world no. 154, 1,040). In Asia, the Golden Stars rank 14th.

The top five teams in the Asian standings include Japan (world no. 28, 1,500 points), Iran (world no. 33, 1,489), the Republic of Korea (world no. 40, 1,464), Australia (world no. 42, 1,457) and Qatar (world no. 55, 1,396).

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Vietnam’s opponents in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, currently rank 71st in the world and eighth in Asia with 1,334 points.

There has been no change to the world’s top ten, with Belgium firmly defending their reign with 1,765 points, followed by France (1,733), Brazil (1,712), England (1,661) and Uruguay (1,645).

Depending on the evolution of the pandemic, FIFA plans to restart international football events this October. Therefore, from now until the national team level tournaments are resumed, the FIFA world rankings will hardly see any adjustment.

Vietnam first in the world to resume normal football events

Nam Dinh FC and Hoang Anh Gia Lai met each other in the opening clash of the 2020 Vietnamese National Cup at Thien Truong Stadium (Nam Dinh province) on May 23, marking the official return of football events in the country after months of disruption due to Covid-19.

FIFA president lauds Vietnamese football for joint efforts in containing Covid-19

FIFA President Gianni Infantino sent a thank-you letter to President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Le Khanh Hai and Vietnamese football for their recent practical activities to join the country’s efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vietnamese football heads towards two major tasks in 2020

Despite Covid-19, the national football team are still heading towards two important goals during the remaining months of 2020 – reaching the third round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifications and defending their regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup title later this year.

EU football joins hands to give Vietnamese street kids a leg up

The UEFA and the Blue Dragon children’s foundations are teaming up to use football for giving Vietnamese street kids a leg up. 

Vietnam football coach among South Korea’s 40 most powerful

Coach Park Hang-seo, mastermind behind Vietnam's recent success in men’s football, ranked 38th on the list of 40 most influential celebrities in South Korea.

Source: NDO