The Vietnamese national team ended the year of 2020 with 93rd place in the FIFA rankings. — Photo baodongkhoi.vn

Football

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese national team will end the year of 2020 at 93rd place in the FIFA rankings, 18 spots higher than Thailand.

This ranking also helped Việt Nam enter the top 15 Asian teams and is the best ranking for the country in 20 years.

Việt Nam lead Southeast Asia, followed by Thailand, world No 111.

Thailand have a total of 1,178 points, while Việt Nam have 1,258 points. This gap will be difficult to level until March 2021 when the second qualifying round matches for the 2022 World Cup take place.

In Asia, Japan dominated the region with 1,502 points, followed by Iran (1,496 points), South Korea (1,465 points), Australia (1,457 points) and Qatar (1,391 points). 

Belgium won six out of eight matches played this year and maintained the overall lead with 1,780 points, finishing on top for the third consecutive year.

Ranking behind Belgium are France (1,755 points), Brazil (1,743 points) and England (1,670 points)

At present, the Vietnamese national team are training at the Việt Nam Youth Football Training Centre in Hà Nội to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers.

Currently, Việt Nam lead Group G with 11 points after five matches, two ahead of Malaysia in second. If Việt Nam stay on the top of the group or are one of the five best second-placed teams, they will enter the final qualifying round for the first time in history.

Defender Quế Ngọc Hải is the captain of the team and is confident they can get over the line.

"I think the spirit and desire of the team are the most important thing. We have a big advantage for the remaining three games. The whole team will work together closely and determine to play well, especially the upcoming match against Malaysia on the away field,” said Hải. VNS