Malaysia have dropped significantly in the latest FIFA world rankings, falling from 121st to 138th place in the world.
In the latest update released today by FIFA, Harimau Malaya, who collected a total of 1,086.22 points, slipped 17 positions following a 1-3 defeat to Vietnam in their final Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
The sharp decline was also influenced by a decision from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which annulled two of Malaysia’s qualifying matches against Nepal and Vietnam.
Originally, Malaysia had recorded a 2-0 win over Nepal at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on March 25 last year, and a 4-0 victory against Vietnam at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on June 10 last year.
However, on March 17, the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee ruled that both matches be forfeited 0-3 in favour of the opponents after Malaysia were found to have fielded ineligible players.
The sanction was linked to allegations of document falsification involving seven Harimau Malaya players, namely Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.
