Indonesian media rejoice as Malaysia faces heavy FIFA sanctions

Indonesian media show enthusiasm following Malaysia’s strict punishment by FIFA, seeing this as a prime opportunity for Indonesia’s team to overtake their competitor and move closer to the Southeast Asian top three.

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) released the latest rankings on December 22, 2025. According to this, Indonesia’s national team maintained their 122nd position worldwide with 1,144.73 points. Although they did not rise in rank, this result is still positive as Indonesia is now just one spot behind Malaysia, opening a significant chance to surpass their regional rival and return to the Southeast Asian top 3.

While Indonesia’s points remained stable, Malaysia plummeted five places from 116th to 121st after FIFA imposed a severe penalty for fielding ineligible players in three FIFA international friendly matches. The results of these matches were annulled: a 1-1 draw with Cape Verde, a 2-1 win over Singapore, and a 1-0 victory against Palestine.

FIFA subsequently awarded Malaysia 0-3 losses for all three matches and fined them 10,000 Swiss francs (approximately 209 million VND). As a result, Malaysia lost 22.52 points, allowing Indonesia to significantly close the gap and gain a chance to break ahead in the next update.

Experts in Indonesia believe that if the national team continues to perform well in international matches in 2026, they could easily surpass Malaysia and even closely challenge Thailand and Vietnam, the two teams leading the region.

In this ranking update, Vietnam climbed three places to 107th in the world, while Thailand dropped one place to 96th. At the global top, Spain remains first with 1,977.18 points, ahead of Argentina and France.

With the points gap narrowing, Indonesia is closer than ever to achieving a return to Southeast Asia’s top 3, affirming the growing strength of Indonesian football on the world stage.