Awarded a win over Malaysia, Vietnam’s national team approaches the FIFA top 100 rankings

Vietnam’s national team stands to receive many FIFA ranking points if granted a 3-0 win against Malaysia.

On the evening of November 3rd, FIFA’s Appeals Committee rejected all appeals from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven naturalized players regarding disciplinary sanctions previously imposed by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee.

As a result, Malaysia is still allowed to play the remaining matches in the final round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. However, under AFC disciplinary rules, Malaysia will almost certainly be handed 0-3 losses for the matches against Nepal and Vietnam due to fielding ineligible players.

If awarded a 3-0 victory, not only will Vietnam’s chances of qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup finals improve greatly, but the team will also earn an impressive number of FIFA ranking points. According to Football Ranking calculations, a 3-0 win over Malaysia would restore the 13.02 points lost from the 0-4 defeat and add 11.98 points for the awarded win.

Currently ranked 111th worldwide with 1183.62 points, Vietnam’s "Golden Dragons" would gain 25 points from the awarded 3-0 win over Malaysia, reaching 1208.62 points and moving up to 104th in the world. This presents a great opportunity for Vietnam to re-enter the FIFA top 100 if they continue winning against Laos (in November) and Malaysia (in March 2026) during the Asian Cup qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Malaysia faces a high risk of a significant drop in rankings after being penalized with losses for multiple matches involving ineligible naturalized players. Malaysia fielded seven sanctioned naturalized players in wins over Nepal (2-0), Vietnam (4-0), Singapore (2-1), and Palestine (1-0). If all four matches are forfeited along with the point deductions, Malaysia could lose up to 70 ranking points.

The final decision on this matter will be made by the AFC — the Asian Cup organizer — after FAM completes all related legal procedures. This process is expected to conclude by March 31, 2026, the end of the final qualifying round, to ensure a clear determination of the teams qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup finals.