Despite playing no international games over the past year due to COVID-19, Vietnam have inched up three notches to 90th due to some other national teams’ losses in friendlies during March.
Lebanon, for instance, lost 6.7 points after recording a defeat to Jordan and a draw against Kuwait in two friendlies during international dates approved by FIFA.
The latest rankings shows Vietnam are trailed behind by Georgia and Armenia. In the event that these two national teams don’t record wins over Greece and Romania in their respective upcoming World Cup 2022 qualifiers, then the Vietnamese squad will retain their place as 90th in the rankings.
Led by head coach Park Hang-seo, Vietnam are currently leading Group G in the Asian region’s second qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup with 11 points.
Malaysia are in second with nine points, whilst Thailand are placed in third with eight points, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with six points, and Indonesia with no points.
Vietnam will take on Indonesia, Malaysia, and the UAE on June 7, June 11, and June 15, respectively, in the remaining fixtures in Group G.
The national squad plan to gather on May 10 in preparation for upcoming matches before traveling to the UAE on May 31.