Vietnam moved closer to the top 97 in the FIFA World Rankings after a convincing 2-0 victory over Thailand in the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final on August 22.
The win at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium has put head coach Kim Sang Sik’s side in a strong position to claim the regional title and has also boosted their standing in the latest FIFA ranking calculations.
Vietnam beat Thailand at Rajamangala Stadium (Photo: Tuan Bao).
According to calculations by Football-Ranking, Vietnam earned 2.60 ranking points from the victory over Thailand.
The national team currently sit 98th in the world with 1,236.94 points, one place higher than before the tournament began. Vietnam are now only 1.8 points behind Guatemala, who occupy 97th place.
As a result, another victory over Thailand in the second leg of the final could see Vietnam climb to 97th in the world rankings.
Since the start of ASEAN Cup 2026, Vietnam have collected 9.74 FIFA ranking points from six wins and one draw, making them the biggest points gainers among Southeast Asian teams during the tournament.
Thailand has dropped two places to 93rd in the world (Photo: FAT).
Thailand, meanwhile, lost 2.60 ranking points following Friday’s defeat. It was their second consecutive loss after a semi-final second-leg defeat to Singapore, which had already cost them 3.40 points.
The setback has pushed Thailand down to 93rd in the world with 1,252.34 points, below both China and Bahrain in the rankings.
Thailand had previously risen to 90th place after defeating Singapore in the first leg of the semi-finals, their highest FIFA ranking since March 2008.
Should they fail to beat Vietnam in the return leg of the final, Thailand could slip further to 94th place. Benin currently occupy that position with 1,252.17 points.
The second leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final between Vietnam and Thailand is scheduled to take place at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi at 8 pm on August 26.
