According to calculations by the FIFA rankings website, the Vietnamese team could drop 4 places in the FIFA rankings after a 0-4 loss to Malaysia in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.
This is an worrying step back for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team, in the context that the team is aiming to return to the group of 100 strongest teams in the world.
Meanwhile, the resounding victory right at home helped Malaysia accumulate significant points, thereby increasing 5 places to 126th. After 2 matches, Malaysia took the lead with 6 absolute points, thanks to 2 consecutive victories against Nepal (2-0) and Vietnam (4-0). Vietnam is currently second in the group with 3 points, after the opening victory of 5-0 against Laos.
According to the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, only the top team in each group will qualify directly for the finals. This means that the Vietnamese team must regain the top spot if they want to continue their journey in the continental tournament.
In the current situation, that could only happen if Vietnam won all remaining matches, including the return match against Malaysia, and waited for this opponent to stumble.
Even if Vietnam and Malaysia have the same score after the group stage ends, the ticket to the next round will be decided based on the criteria of direct confrontation, goal difference and goal difference.
Having lost 0-4 in the first leg, Vietnam was forced to beat Malaysia by at least 5 goals in the second leg to dominate the confrontation. If they only win with the same score, the goal difference will be the deciding factor, and Vietnam needs to have real big wins against Laos and Nepal to create an advantage.
However, this task is extremely difficult. Malaysia has a strong and stable squad, especially the presence of quality naturalized players. Recent statistics show that Malaysia has never lost to Vietnam by more than 3 goals. Vietnam's two biggest victories against this opponent were also only 3-0, in the group stage of the AFF Cup in 2020 and 2022.
The heavy loss to Malaysia not only caused the Vietnamese team to lose points on the FIFA rankings but also put the team in an extremely unfavorable situation in the race for tickets to the 2027 Asian Cup.
Although the opportunity is not completely over, the road ahead will be full of thorns and require a real breakthrough if coach Kim Sang-sik and his team do not want to miss the 2027 Asian Cup.
