Vietnam captures global attention by entering FIFA top 20 rankings

Vietnam’s futsal squad and Poland are the two teams newly appearing in the FIFA top 20 for the first time.

The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) recently released the latest men’s and women’s futsal rankings. Accordingly, the Vietnamese men’s futsal team climbed 6 places to reach 20th in the world. This marks the highest ranking ever achieved by Vietnam’s men’s futsal team since FIFA officially introduced the futsal ranking system.

This remarkable rise stems from the undefeated performance of coach Diego Giustozzi’s squad at the 2026 AFC futsal qualifiers held last September. Currently, the Vietnamese futsal team ranks 4th in Asia, trailing only Iran (5th worldwide), Thailand (11th), and Japan (13th).

Making the top 20 globally for the first time is considered a significant milestone, providing a major morale boost for Vietnam’s futsal team ahead of their opening match at SEA Games 33 against Malaysia on December 16. Notably, Vietnam is one of only two new entrants in this update’s top 20, alongside Poland, which moved up 3 places to 19th.

In the world’s top 10, Brazil continues to strengthen its number one position by expanding the gap over Portugal and Spain. The top seven teams maintained their rankings, while a notable change was Ukraine and Kazakhstan swapping places within the top 10.

According to FIFA statistics, 230 international men’s futsal matches have been played since the last ranking update, including the 2026 AFC and UEFA futsal qualifiers. Besides Vietnam, other teams such as South Korea, Montenegro, Mozambique, Denmark, and Malaysia have also made significant ranking gains.

In women’s futsal, the Vietnamese team retained their 11th place in the world and 5th in Asia. Between the two ranking announcements, coach Nguyễn Đình Hoàng’s team did not participate in any international matches that counted for points.

This historic FIFA ranking achievement is a well-deserved recognition of Vietnam futsal’s persistent efforts, sound development strategy, and thorough preparation over many years, while also affirming Vietnam’s growing prominence on the global futsal stage.