Harimau Malaya drop 17 places to 138th in Fifa world rankings

 This follows the national team's 1-3 defeat to Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers yesterday, and AFC's decision to cancel two victories last year for fielding ineligible players.

Things have gone from bad to worse for Harimau Malaya following the document falsification issue involving seven heritage players. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

 National football team Harimau Malaya have dropped from 121st to 138th place in the latest world rankings released by world body Fifa.

Harimau Malaya, who have accumulated a total of 1,086.22 points, slipped 17 places following a 1-3 defeat to Vietnam in their final Group F match in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers yesterday.

The drop in rankings was also the result of a decision by the Asian Football Confederation not to count two of Harimau Malaya’s previous qualifying matches against Nepal and Vietnam.

Malaysia defeated Nepal 2-0 at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on March 25 last year, and thrashed Vietnam 4-0 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on June 10 last year.

However, on March 17, AFC’s disciplinary and ethics committee decided to declare that Malaysia lost both matches by 0-3 scorelines after Harimau Malaya were found to have fielded ineligible players.

The decision was made following the document falsification issue involving seven Harimau Malaya players – Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel. - FMT