Vietnam drops to 114th in FIFA September ranking, Spain regains top position

By VNA September 19, 2025 | 03:00 pm PT

The Vietnam national football team after losing 0-4 to Malaysia in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup, at Bukit Jalil Stadium, Malaysia, on June 10, 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Hai Tu

The Vietnam Football Federation has reported that the national men's football team fell one place to 114th in the FIFA rankings for September 2025, despite not playing any international matches during the recent FIFA Days.

The slip was largely due to Libya, previously behind Vietnam, climbing five places from the 117th to 112th place after victories over Angola and Eswatini.

In Southeast Asia, Thailand continued to lead, moving up one spot to 101st globally. They are followed by Indonesia (119th, down one), Malaysia (123rd, up two), and the Philippines (143rd, up two).

Across Asia, Japan remained the highest-ranked team at 19th, despite dropping two places. Iran (21st), South Korea (23rd), Australia (25th), and Qatar (53rd) rounded out the regional top five.

At the global level, Spain made headlines by regaining the No.1 position for the first time since 2014, overtaking Argentina and France. France rose to second, while Argentina fell to third after a run of inconsistent results.

FIFA noted that more than 200 international fixtures since the last update significantly reshaped the rankings.

For Vietnam, head coach Kim Sang-sik and his players will have the chance to improve their standing in October's FIFA Days with two Asian Cup 2027 qualifying matches against Nepal. The next FIFA rankings will be released on Oct. 23, 2025.