KUALA LUMPUR: Harimau Malaya's performance in the 2023 Asian Cup, which saw them exiting early, is expected to cause a drop in their world ranking by two places to 132.
According to the Footy Rankings website, the team, under the guidance of coach Kim Pan Gon, lost 12.79 points after a 0-4 defeat to Asian Cup runners-up Jordan and a narrow 0-1 loss to Bahrain.
Although they managed to secure a 3-3 draw against South Korea, the points earned were not sufficient to offset the subsequent loss of points from two defeats in Group E action in Qatar.
This achievement leaves the national squad with a total of 1,110.08 points compared to 1,122.87 points in the previous official update by the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa).
As for the rankings of three other Asean teams participating in the 2023 Asian Cup, both Thailand and Indonesia, who qualified for the knockout rounds, managed to improve their rankings.
Thailand is expected to climb 12 places to 101 in the world, while Indonesia rises four places to 142.
Vietnam, previously ranked at 94 globally, drops 12 places to 106th after losing all three group stage matches, accumulating the highest loss of points (41 points).
The Asian Cup champions, Qatar, are set to enjoy the highest ranking boost after successfully defending their title, climbing 21 places from 58th to 37th in the world.
The leap was made possible after coach Marquez Lopez's squad collected the highest number of points, totalling 92.13 points after winning all their matches in the 2023 Asian Cup.
Similarly, Jordan is expected to move up to 73 from 87, marking an improvement of 14 places.
