Việt Nam's national football team have surged back into the FIFA top 100. — Photo baovanhoa.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese national football team have surged back into the FIFA top 100 after strong results at the end of March. The Golden Star Warriors moved up four places to 99th, earning 1,225.68 points.

Việt Nam gained 2.38 points from a 2-0 friendly win over Bangladesh during FIFA Days and 9.67 points from defeating Malaysia in the final round of 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. 

Following a previous AFC decision, the team had 13.91 points restored after a 0-4 loss to Malaysia last June, and also received 11.08 points when awarded a victory.

This is the first time Việt Nam have been inside the top 100 since December 2023, when they were 94th. By contrast, Malaysia dropped 17 places to 138th after losing 59.67 points.

With their current ranking, Việt Nam are seeded in Pot 3 for the 2027 Asian Cup draw. The tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia from January 7 to February 5, 2027, in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar. The 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four for a round-robin group stage. The top two from each group plus the four best third-placed teams will advance to the knockout rounds.

Along with Việt Nam, Pot 3 also includes Thailand, China, Bahrain, Palestine and Tajikistan. Việt Nam could face tough opposition from Pot 1 teams such as Japan, Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Uzbekistan, who are among the favourites for the title. 

Pot 2 also contains other strong, experienced sides including Qatar, Iraq, Jordan, the UAE, Oman and Syria. Pot 4 features several regional sides such as Indonesia and Singapore, as well as Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, North Korea and either Lebanon or Yemen, any of which could become Việt Nam’s group stage opponents. — VNS