ZURICH: Newly crowned Asian champions Qatar have climbed to 55th in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, gaining 38 places – and reaching their best position since 1993 – on the back of stunning success in the United Arab Emirates.
The Asian Cup has been responsible for almost all of the notable changes in the first ranking of 2019, with the scarcity of games in other confederations leaving the top 20 unchanged – and Belgium still in pole position.
Further down the table, Qatar are not the only team to have ascended in spectacular style. Fellow finalists Japan (27th, up 23) also soared up the order while South Korea (38th, up 15), the United Arab Emirates (67th, up 12) and Jordan (97th, up 12) all registered double-digit gains.
There were also significant upwards moves by the likes of Iraq (80th, up eight), IR Iran (22nd, up seven) and Uzbekistan (89th, up six).
Another consequence of these changes is that Asia has raised its numbers in the ranking’s top 50. The AFC is now represented by four teams, up one on the last edition, and now stands level with Africa, whose numbers have been depleted by Congo DR (51st, down 2) dropping out.
Overview Click here to view the complete ranking. The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 4 April 2019. Leader Belgium (unchanged)
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