The Vietnamese squad has made the strongest advance in the International Football Federation (FIFA) rankings after ten years, jumping 39 places from 135th in 2009 to the 96th position currently and retaining the No.1 position in Southeast Asia, Zing reported.
VVietnam retained their spot in the top 100 after a successful 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup campaign.
|
Besides, the goal of entering the top 100 in global rankings of the “Golden Dragon” squad was realized in less than two years, surpassing the initial plan of South Korean coach Park Hang-seo.
After a decade, Southeast Asia football has seen signs of improvement across the region as in the club-level continental competitions, its representatives are not much weaker than teams from other regions.
The qualifications of regional players also improved significantly. Among the, , Vietnam and Thailand are the most outstanding magnets for continental and even world major football clubs.
Generally, Southeast Asia football is gradually proving the nickname "bottom of the world football" to be wrong by occupying higher positions in FIFA rankings.
Thailand topped the region at 116th rank in 2009 and has maintained the position for ten years until now. Malaysia also found itself in the same situation as its rank remained unchanged at 159th place.
The Philippines experienced a successful period when moving up 34 places from 160th to 126th in ten years.
Other nations in the region also see football as an important sport and have adopted the right direction to develop it. Myanmar and Cambodia are gradually climbing in world rankings, occupying the 138th and 169th places, respectively.
However, not all countries in Southeast Asia have made positive progress on football rankings due to the increasing numbers of FIFA members along with some domestic issues hindering their football development.
