HCM CITY - Việt Nam’s men national football team dropped two spots to 117th in the FIFA ranking, its lowest since November 2017, according to the Việt Nam Football Federation.
The national team ended the 2024 LPBank Cup friendly tournament with a 2-1 loss to Thailand on Tuesday evening (September 10) at Mỹ Đình Stadium.
Despite taking the lead thanks to Tiến Linh’s goal in the 20th minute, coach Kim Sang Sik and his players let Suphanat Muenta and Patrik Gustavsson of Thailand each score in the first half, which completed the comeback for Thailand.
This defeat extended a winless streak against Thailand. The last time the "Golden Star Warriors" defeated the team from the land of the Golden Temple was in 2019 at the King's Cup friendly in Thailand, with a minimal 1-0 victory.
Thus, the Việt Nam national team lost both friendly matches in September 2024 (losing to Russia 0-3 and losing to Thailand 1-2). This caused the team to continue to lose points in the world rankings.
Việt Nam (ranked 115th in the world) was deducted 4.52 points by FIFA after losing to Thailand (ranked 101st). Previously, the "Golden Star Warriors" were deducted 2.14 points after losing to Russia on September 5.
Thus, the team was deducted a total of 6.66 points after FIFA Days in September, bringing the total score down to 1,163.50 points, or two places on the FIFA rankings to 117th.
Sharing after the loss to Thailand, coach Kim Sang Sik expressed: "I wanted the team to win against Thailand. The Vietnamese people have endured hardships due to storm No. 3, so I really wanted the team to win. However, that did not happen. We could not do it. Of course, I am not satisfied with this match”.
“I have watched many videos, heartbreaking moments about storm No. 3 in Vietnam. For my part, I am grateful that the Vietnamese people always support the national team. Sorry for not being able to win."
After this tournament, the Vietnamese team will have an opportunity to compete in another international friendly tournament organised by VFF on FIFA Days in October 2024, facing two opponents: Lebanon (ranked 116th in the world) and India (ranked 134), before starting their 2024 ASEAN Championship journey against Laos on December 10. VNS