Hanoi, 22 December 2025 – In the final FIFA rankings of 2025 released on the evening of December 22, Vietnam recorded the best monthly rise in the world, climbing three places to 107th globally and 19th in Asia, while Malaysia suffered a sharp drop after being handed multiple forfeits.
The latest rankings published by FIFA confirmed a positive end to the year for Vietnam national football team. Vietnam gained 5.89 points in December, bringing their total to 1,189.51 points and lifting them three places to 107th in the world and 19th in Asia. This marked the strongest improvement of any national team in the final ranking update of 2025, a feat matched only by Singapore.
Vietnam’s rise has significantly narrowed the gap with regional leaders Thailand national football team, who slipped one place to 96th in the world and 16th in Asia. The difference between the two Southeast Asian rivals is now just 11 positions. The key factor behind Vietnam’s progress was their 2-0 victory over Laos in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers on November 19. That result was not included in FIFA’s November ranking release, as the match was played a day later than the original schedule, and was instead fully counted in the December rankings.
This additional point gain has helped head coach Kim Sang-sik’s team maintain a steady upward trajectory since October 2025. Over the past two months, Vietnam have climbed from 114th to 107th in the world, moving ever closer to the global top 100.
In December, Vietnam and Singapore national football team were the biggest climbers worldwide, both rising three places. Singapore benefited from a FIFA-awarded 3-0 win in an international friendly against Malaysia national football team, after Malaysia were found to have fielded ineligible players. That decision earned Singapore an additional 9.92 points, pushing them up to 148th in the world.
Malaysia, by contrast, endured a disastrous ranking update. FIFA ruled them to have lost three matches by 0-3 forfeits — against Singapore, Cape Verde, and Palestine — all due to the use of ineligible players. As a result, Malaysia were docked a total of 22.52 points and dropped five places to 121st in the world, although they remain just above Indonesia national football team, who sit 122nd.
There is further bad news on the horizon for Malaysia. Should the Asian Football Confederation also rule against them in two Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers — the 2-0 win over Nepal on March 25 and the 4-0 victory over Vietnam on June 10 — both with higher-ranking coefficients, Malaysia could lose even more points and potentially fall outside the world’s top 130.
At the top of the global rankings, there were no changes from the previous month. Spain national football team retained the world No.1 position, followed by Argentina national football team, France national football team, and Brazil national football team. In Asia, Japan national football team remained the highest-ranked side, holding 18th place globally, ahead of Iran, South Korea, and Australia.
Hung Tam
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