The Malaysian Football Association confirms sad news from FIFA following the loss to Vietnam

The Malaysian Football Association confirms that the national team has been deducted points and dropped in ranking according to the latest update on the FIFA rankings.

In the final match of Group F in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Malaysian national team suffered a 1-3 defeat against Vietnam, thereby concluding their campaign with three losses and accepting that coach Kim Sang Sik and his team secured a ticket to the finals early next year.

Not stopping there, the Malaysian Football Association (FAM) also confirmed this national team has dropped in ranking on the FIFA rankings in the latest update. Specifically, FAM announced: "In the latest FIFA rankings update today, the Malaysian national team is ranked 138th in the world, falling 17 places from the 121st position in the previous update on January 20, 2026."

Previously, in mid-March, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) issued a decision to award a 0-3 defeat in two matches of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Nepal and Vietnam. The cause stems from FAM being accused of lacking transparency in the naturalization documents of seven players, related to the aforementioned matches as well as some friendly games.

The consequence was that coach Peter Cklamovski's team was deducted six points in the qualifiers, simultaneously losing the chance to compete for a progression ticket. Additionally, the "Malayan Tigers" also suffered a negative impact on the FIFA rankings, dropping as many as 14 places.

Regarding the Vietnamese national team, the victory at Thiên Trường Stadium helped the "Golden Star Warriors" gain an additional 9.67 points, thereby returning to the world's top 100 at the 99th position. However, coach Kim Sang Sik and his team still trail Thailand in the Southeast Asia region, as this opponent is currently ranked 93rd.

The Vietnamese national team concluded their 2027 Asian Cup qualifying campaign with a perfect record after six matches, scoring 17 goals and conceding only twice. Along with Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand, the "Golden Dragons" will be Southeast Asia's representatives at the 2027 Asian Cup finals, scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia in January 2027.