KUALA LUMPUR: The pressure is on Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) to improve and keep Malaysia's automatic slot in the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) next season.
This came about after JDT lost their latest match, 1-0 to China's Shandong Taishan on Tuesday.
Vietnam's rise in the Asian club rankings has put more pressure on Malaysia who dropped two spots to No. 7 with 32.861 points while Australia and Vietnam are fifth (33.624) and sixth (33.038) respectively.
Participation in the ACLE, which is Asia's highest level club competition, is determined by Asian countries' club rankings.
Selangor are competing in the lower-level AFC Champions League 2 (ACL2).
Vietnam's sole representative in the ongoing ACL2, Nam Dinh FC, are set to move up to the ACLE next season. They have been impressive in Group G, winning three matches and drawing two.
Nam Dinh's recent 3-0 win over Hong Kong's Lee Man saw them move up to sixth place on the Asian rankings, and well in position for an ACLE slot.
Vietnam's consistency has led to them collecting 9.333 ranking points for the 2024/2025 season, surpassing Malaysia who have with just 8.333.
Selangor's hopes of improving their Asian club ranking took a blow with a 2-1 loss to Thailand's Muangthong United earlier this week.
If JDT and Selangor fail to earn ranking points in the remaining fixtures, Malaysia could lose their automatic spot in the 2026-2027 ACLE.