BANGKOK (VnExpress/Vietnam News): Consecutive victories in the 2026 Asean Hyundai Cup group stage have propelled Thailand to 91st place in the FIFA world ranking, overtaking China for the first time in 22 years.
Thailand achieved the position after gaining 4.53 points from victories over Laos (+0.99 points), Malaysia (+1.75 points), and the Philippines (+1.79 points). This marks their highest official ranking in over 18 years, dating back to March 2008 when they held the 90th spot.
With a total of 1,255.33 points, Thailand maintain their status as the top team in South-East Asia. They also pushed China, who currently have 1,254.81 points, down to 92nd place.
Since the ASEAN Cup does not fall within the official FIFA international match calendar, FIFA has not yet announced immediate point changes for the Southeast Asian teams. These point calculations are according to the latest update by football-ranking.com.
This marks the first time Thailand have surpassed China in the FIFA ranking since June 2004. At that time, the Southeast Asian side ranked 61st in the world, while China sat at 64th.
Over the past 22 years, both national teams have seen their rankings drop significantly. This decline is partly due to the steady progress of other nations. As these emerging countries invested heavily in football, they advanced rapidly and pushed teams from both Southeast Asia and China further down the list.
Although the 2026 ASEAN Cup does not take place during the FIFA international window, the tournament's matches still count toward the ranking.
However, they are calculated with a weighting factor of just 5, which is the lowest possible value. For comparison, friendly matches played during official FIFA international windows carry a weighting factor of 10.
This scoring system means a victory during a FIFA international window yields twice as many ranking points for a team compared to a win in the ASEAN Cup.
Meanwhile, after three matches in Group A, Vietnam defeated Timor-Leste 7-0, drew 0-0 with Singapore and beat Indonesia 3-0.
Coach Kim Sang-sik’s squad earned an additional 2.31 points for these results. However, they remained at 99th place with a total of 1,229.51 points.
In the final fixture of the group stage, Vietnam beat Cambodia 3-1 and Thailand had a 2-0 win against Myanmar.
The gap between the Vietnam national team and Thailand currently stands at 25.82 points. This deficit is equivalent to about 11 victories of the same magnitude as Vietnam's recent impressive win over Indonesia.
It will be difficult for Vietnam to overtake Thailand for the top spot in the region, regardless of whether they successfully defend their ASEAN Cup title.
The upcoming FIFA ASEAN Cup in September will offer Vietnam a valuable chance to test Thailand's strength directly. The two teams have been drawn into the same group alongside the Philippines and Pakistan.
The two regional powerhouses also have the opportunity to face off in the current 2026 ASEAN Cup, as Vietnam and Thailand topped their groups.
In the semifinals, Vietnam will face Malaysia while Thailand meet Singapore.
Should both squads advance past the semifinals, it would be a rematch of the previous edition, where Vietnam beat Thailand 5-3 on aggregate after two legs of the final.
All official global rankings will be updated and confirmed during the next FIFA international window in September. -- VnExpress/Vietnam News
