Vietnam falls nine grades in FIFA ranking

In the FIFA World Ranking for October, Vietnam drops nine grades compared to September, standing at 139^th.

In Asia, Vietnam ranks 23^rd of 46 teams on the list. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam is behind Thailand, which jumps up three grades to 114^th and Indonesia (125^th) and in front of Singapore, which falls by two grades to 140^th, Myanmar (147^th) and Malaysia (166^th).

There has been yet another change the sixth this year at the top of the latest FIFA World Ranking. Argentina (1st, up 1) have cruised back to the top after a superb start to the South American qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup while Italy (3rd, down 2) have seen Brazil (2nd, up 1) overtake them despite two recent victories after the devaluation of other wins from previous years (most notably the one against Ukraine in October 2006). 

The other changes in the top ten and the places just outside it are a reflection of the results of EURO 2008 qualifiers. France (4th, up 2) and Spain (6th, up 1) have moved up the ladder while Germany (5th, down 1) and the Netherlands (7th, down 2) have paid for defeat by dropping down a notch or two. 

The 3-0 victory chalked up by the Czech Republic (9th, up 2) in Germany has put them back in the top ten, ousting England (11th, down 2) in the process. Scotland (13th, up 1) and Greece (14th, up 1) have both edged upwards, with Scotland celebrating their best ranking since the World Ranking was introduced in 1993. England’s conquerors, Russia (16th, up 10), count as one of the big movers, having regained the territory they last occupied some ten years ago. 

Norway (21st, up 8), Senegal (34th, up 6), Mali (40th, up 9) and Hungary (48th, up 7) have all jumped more than five places inside the top 50. Farther back, Cyprus (57th, up 11), Moldova (61st, up 20) and Georgia (71st, up 33) are also causing a few ripples while St. Vincent and the Grenadines (73rd, up 24), Liechtenstein (119th, up 23), New Zealand (128th, up 28) and Luxembourg (150th, up 26) have all rocketed more than twenty places. 

The next FIFA World Ranking will be published on Friday, 23 November 2007.

The top ten teams in FIFA World Ranking for October

 Ranking of Southeast Asian teams

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