Vietnam Football Hot News Today March 18: Vietnam National Team Advances in FIFA Rankings; Nam Dinh Steel Blue Club Announces Two New Signings

Vietnam Football Hot News Today March 18: Vietnam National Team Advances in FIFA Rankings; Nam Dinh Steel Blue Club Announces Two New Signings.

Vietnam National Team Advances in FIFA Rankings

After Malaysia was penalized with a 0-3 loss in two matches, the Vietnam national team gained nearly 25 points on the FIFA ranking table. From 1,189.51 points and the 108th position globally, the red-shirted team rose to approximately 1,214 points, thereby closing in on the top 100 strongest teams. The gap with higher-ranked opponents such as Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, or Tajikistan is now insignificant.

This is a crucial boost in ranking, while also creating a psychological advantage for the national team ahead of the series of FIFA Days matches in March. Vietnam will successively face the Bangladesh national team in a friendly match and rematch Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

According to the schedule, in the final match taking place on March 31, 2026 at Thien Truong Stadium (Nam Dinh), the Vietnam national team will host Malaysia.

Although no longer decisive for the final ranking, the match is still expected to be a noteworthy contest, meaningful for accumulating points on the FIFA ranking table, maintaining form, and preparing for the journey at the 2027 Asian Cup Finals.

Nam Dinh Steel Blue Club Announces Two New Signings

Nam Dinh Steel Blue Club officially announced two new contracts: Giap Tuấn Dương and Le Van Thanh, aiming to strengthen the squad for the second half of the 2025/26 season.

Giap Tuấn Dương is a left-footed player, playing in both center-back and left-wingback positions. Before joining Nam Dinh Steel Blue Club, he had made 49 appearances in V.League, accumulating match experience despite being very young.

Under coach Troussier, Giap Tuấn Dương was favored by the French tactician.

Le Van Thanh is a right-footed center-back. He previously played for Binh Phuoc Club in the First Division, and also spent 4 seasons competing in V.League wearing the SLNA jersey.

On the afternoon of March 17, these two players had their first training session with the new team, preparing for the match in the National Cup quarter-finals against the home team SHB Da Nang.

3 SLNA Players Called Up to Vietnam U17 National Team

Quan Thanh Cong, Nguyen Minh Thuy, and Tran Ngoc Son are three SLNA players who continue to be called up to the Vietnam U17 national team to prepare for major tournaments in 2026.

On the afternoon of March 17, SLNA Club received a document from the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) regarding the call-up of players to the national U17 team for the first training camp of 2026.

Accordingly, three SLNA players including Quan Thanh Cong, Nguyen Minh Thuy, and Tran Ngoc Son were selected to join the training camp list.

The Vietnam U17 national team will train from April 1 to May 23, 2026 at the VFF Youth Football Training Center.

This is a crucial preparation phase leading up to two major arenas: the 2026 Southeast Asian U17 Championship and the 2026 AFC U17 Asian Cup Finals.

Previously, all three SLNA players had already played for the Vietnam U17 team in the 2026 AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers.