The current position marks a rise of one notch compared with February when the initial rankings of the year were unveiled by football’s governing body.

This marks the highest place the Vietnamese national football team have secured in the FIFA men’s rankings over the previous two decades, only behind their previous highest ranking of 84th in 1998.

Most notably, December’s rankings show that Vietnam have maintained their leading position in the Southeast Asian region, a spot they have held for over 40 consecutive months, with a total of 1,258 points.

Just behind Vietnam in the Southeast Asian region is Thailand scoring 1,178 points. Thailand have also enjoyed a rise up the rankings, climbing from 113rd to 111st.

Belgium top the global rankings with 1,780 points, followed by France with 1,755 points, and Brazil with 1,743 points.