Indonesian media is astonished by a major change in the Vietnam national team.

According to Superball (Indonesia), Southeast Asian football has just witnessed a significant upheaval on the FIFA rankings after AFC imposed a heavy penalty on the Malaysian national team related to the use of an ineligible player in matches against the Vietnam national team and Nepal.

The newspaper Superball reported: "Vietnam rises, Malaysia falls sharply on FIFA rankings after AFC penalty". According to Indonesian media, Malaysia was ruled to lose 0-3 in two matches against Nepal and Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, and their previous victories were also annulled. The cause stems from this team using up to seven naturalized players who did not meet eligibility requirements.

The penalty caused the Malaysian national team to lose a total of 6 points, dropping to second place in Group F with 9 points, trailing Vietnam by 6 points with only one match remaining. This means Malaysia officially loses its chance to secure a ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup finals, as only the group winner advances according to regulations.

Not only suffering losses in terms of results, Malaysia was also severely affected on the FIFA rankings. According to the Elo point calculation method, the annulment of results caused this team to lose approximately 50 points and is expected to drop by up to 15 places, falling to the 136th position worldwide.

On the contrary, the Vietnam national team is clearly the beneficiary. As Superball emphasized: "The Vietnam national team benefits by rising 5 places, climbing to the 103rd position worldwide after being awarded a 3-0 win against Malaysia."

Previously, the team under coach Kim Sang-sik suffered a major point loss: "Previously, Vietnam had been deducted 13.91 points on the FIFA rankings in July 2025 after a 0-4 loss to Malaysia. However, with the new decision, the squad under coach Kim Sang-sik not only regained the lost points but also received an additional 11.08 points."

Thanks to this, the total points of the Vietnam national team have significantly improved<*!>. Superball wrote: "Overall, Vietnam will gain an additional 24.99 points, raising the total points to 1,214.50. Currently, the national team is only 10.43 points away from the world top 100 and fully has the opportunity to break through if it achieves good results in the final international matches in March."

According to the schedule, the Vietnam national team will successively face Bangladesh (26/3) and Malaysia (31/3), before FIFA announces the new rankings. Indonesian media concluded: "

The next FIFA rankings are scheduled to be announced on April 1, 2026, immediately after the March national team gathering concludes."