Vietnamese football surpasses Malaysia, edging closer to Asia’s top tournament qualification

The accumulated points in the 2025/26 Asian Cup season indicate that Vietnamese football has moved ahead of Malaysia and is nearer than ever to qualifying for the AFC Champions League group stage.

After the conclusion of the AFC Champions League Two 2025/26 group stage, Vietnamese football made a clear mark at the club level. The two representatives, CAHN and Nam Dinh both contributed important points to the AFC’s cumulative ranking table, a factor directly determining future continental cup qualifications. According to the club point calculation system for the 2025/26 season, Vietnamese teams have collected a total of 8.667 points, temporarily ranking 11th in Asia this season.

Among them, CAHN contributed the majority thanks to advancing past the group stage and reaching the AFC Cup 2 Round of 16 for the first time in history. Each win and draw by CAHN is converted into coefficient points, helping Vietnam maintain steady progress. Meanwhile, although Nam Dinh was eliminated, they still earned a significant number of points, especially from their 9-0 victory over Eastern in the group stage, a highly valuable win in AFC’s point system.

The difference between Vietnam and Malaysia is clearly reflected in the numbers. Up to this point in the 2025/26 season, Malaysian football has only accumulated 6.833 points, nearly 2 points less than Vietnam, a considerable gap given that each knockout win yields only 0.5 to 1 point.

While CAHN impressed, Malaysian clubs disappointed. Johor Darul Ta’zim remained stable in the AFC Champions League Elite, but Selangor failed to win any matches in the AFC Cup 2 and was eliminated early, significantly lowering Malaysia’s total points.

On a broader scale, in the East Asia multi-season cumulative ranking, Vietnamese football currently stands 7th with 38.020 points. The gap with higher-ranked teams is narrowing thanks to the consistent performances of clubs over the past two seasons. If CAHN continues to advance deep into the AFC Cup 2, Vietnam has a real chance to break into the East Asia top 6, a position that qualifies for the AFC Champions League group stage under the new format.

Another notable factor is the new structure of AFC competitions. Since the system was revamped, the path to the AFC Champions League is no longer closed but heavily depends on multi-season cumulative rankings. This turns every AFC Cup 2 match into a “strategic asset” where Vietnamese clubs can steadily build advantages rather than relying on a rare breakout season.

Conversely, other Southeast Asian football nations are also accelerating, but not all have stable foundations. Since the AFC implemented the restructured competition system in 2024, only Thailand and Malaysia have had representatives in the AFC Champions League group stage from Southeast Asia.

Although Vietnam regularly participates in the AFC Cup 2, it has never reached this milestone. Therefore, the stable point accumulation in the 2025/26 season is pivotal, not only for CAHN but for the entire Vietnamese football system.

With regional competitors like Singapore and Indonesia also accelerating, the battle for AFC Champions League spots is fiercer than ever. However, with the current points advantage and another representative still in the knockout stage, Vietnamese football holds a realistic chance to create a historic breakthrough, something considered out of reach just a few seasons ago.