Vietnam ascend FIFA futsal world ranking

After beating Lebanon in the World Cup qualification playoffs in late May and claiming a ticket to Futsal World Cup 2021, Vietnam climbed from 44th to 43rd on the FIFA futsal world ranking. In the August update, only Vietnam and Japan improved their positions in Asia.

The top three positions in the world remained unchanged, with Spain first, followed by Brazil and Argentina. In Asia, Iran continued to lead, followed by Kazakhstan and Japan.

The national team has started training since late July. They are set to fly to Spain on Aug. 25 to participate in a friendly tournament with hosts Spain, Japan and Guatemala. They will play another exhibition match with Morocco on Sept. 6, before entering Futsal World Cup, held in Lithuania between Sept. 12 and Oct. 3.

At Futsal World Cup, Vietnam are grouped with Brazil, the Czech Republic and Panama. The team will play their first game against Brazil on Sept. 13, then Panama on the 16th, and the Czech Republic on the 19th.

This is the second time Vietnam qualified for the event, after the first in 2016.