Palestine set to rise in next FIFA Ranking
Improved ranking could help Palestine secure an easier group for 2030 World Cup and 2031 Asian Cup qualification
Palestine are set to be awarded an administrative 3-0 win against Malaysia, overturning a result that saw them lose 1-0 back in September.
FIFA are in the process of punishing Malaysia for illegally naturalizing several national team players. That list includes the goalscorer in Johor on the night of September 8th, João Figueiredo.
In addition to their friendly results being vacated, Malaysia is expected to see Asian Cup qualification wins over Nepal and Vietnam overturned. That would eliminate them from the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The Asian Football Confederation, should it levy the same punishment it did against Timor Leste in 2016, could also ban Malaysia from participating in qualification for the 2031 event as well.
For Palestine, the administrative win will result in a ten point swing. The 1230.55 ranking points to Al-Fida’i’s name in the November 2025 ranking will now be counted as 1240.55.
The successful Arab Cup participation will see the team also collect a handful of points. The reason why the team has not moved up further is that in spite of the tournament’s FIFA status the matches are regarded as friendlies held outside the FIFA window. That means the weight of each match is half the value of a friendly played during the international window.
Palestine’s five matches have netted them a total of 4.32 additional points.
The result means Palestine (1244.87) will leapfrog Thailand (1243.27) back into Asia’s Top 15. China (1249) and Bahrain (1254) are within touching distance and a pair of wins- should friendlies be scheduled in March- could see Palestine pass both.
Unfortunately, the national team they will most likely be locked into Pot 3 for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup draw. The draw for the last two tournaments was conducted in May. The team currently occupying 12th place and the final spot in Pot 2 are Syria (1283) who qualified for the tournament on the back of five Asian Cup qualification wins. The Eagles of Qasioun further bolstered their position with a good Arab Cup campaign.
Palestine could still improve their ranking for the 2030/31 cycle. A good Asian Cup in 13 months’ time could see them crack the Top 9 for the second time in their history. Should Palestine accomplish that, they would be seeded as a Pot 1 team for the next World Cup qualification campaign.