Vietnam's national team breaks an unbelievable record, Southeast Asia struggles to keep up

The victory over Bangladesh enables the Vietnamese national team to prolong their streak of triumphs and creates a major chance to break through on the FIFA standings following a long wait.

Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team have officially rewritten history in Southeast Asian football by extending their consecutive winning streak to 12 matches. This achievement has not been reached by any team in the region, including powerhouses like Thailand, Singapore, or Indonesia. Previously, the old record was only 9 consecutive wins (held by Indonesia in 1968-1969, Thailand in 1995-1996, and Singapore in 2004-2005).

This brilliant journey began with a 5-0 victory over Myanmar in the ASEAN Cup group stage in late 2024. Since then, Mr. Kim's "machine" has operated smoothly across three calendar years (2024 - 2026), defeating a series of opponents from Thailand, Singapore to Malaysia, and most recently Bangladesh.

With 34 goals scored and only 6 conceded, the Vietnamese national team demonstrates astonishing stability, far surpassing the longest 6-match winning streak under former coach Park Hang-seo.

The victory at Hang Day Stadium on March 26 evening not only holds significance in terms of record numbers but also helps the Vietnamese national team accumulate additional 2.38 points, solidly reinforcing their position at 103rd in the world. Currently, with 1,216 points, the gap between "The Golden Star Warriors" and the team ranked 100th (Tajikistan) is only a mere 8 points.

In the context that direct rivals in the region such as Thailand, Indonesia, or Malaysia did not play in this series of matches, Vietnam's ranking is making solo strides. This strong resurgence helps Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team ignite hope of returning to the top 100 strongest national teams on the planet in the upcoming update.

All eyes are now focused on the major clash with Malaysia on March 31 at Thien Truong Stadium. This is seen as a golden opportunity for the Vietnamese national team to achieve a "dual goal": raising the record winning streak to 13 matches and accelerating the aim of entering the FIFA Top 100.

If they defeat "The Malaysian Tigers" - an opponent weakened by naturalization controversies, Vietnam will gain a considerable amount of points to surpass teams ranked above. A victory would not only complete the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying campaign with an absolute perfect record but also serve as a resounding affirmation of Vietnam football's indisputable number one status in Southeast Asia at present.