Football
Idle Azkals move up two spots in FIFA rankings
InterAKTV file photo/Roy Afable
Despite not playing any matches last July, the Philippines still moved up in the latest FIFA world rankings released Wednesday.
From 152nd, the Azkals climbed to 150th to rank 22nd among the Asian countries and remain third-best in Southeast Asia behind Thailand (133rd) and Vietnam (146th).
The Azkals last played in a 3-0 victory over Guam last June and took a break for almost two months. They will next face the US Virgin Islands in a FIFA friendly match on August 18 during their training tour in the United States.
The Philippines reached its all-time high in the ladder at 148th last April after finishing third place in the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup in Nepal. The country suffered its lowest ranking at 195th in September 2006.
Meanwhile, Vietnam, who were once leaders in Southeast Asia, dropped by 26 spots to fall behind Thailand. The two countries are drawn with the Azkals in the group stages of the upcoming 2012 ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup.
Defending Suzuki Cup titlists Malaysia remained on the 157th spot while its rival, Indonesia, trails closely at 159th. Singapore, who is also seeded in the biennial tournament, tied Nepal at 162nd.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain continues its tight grip of the top spot, which it has held since September 2011, followed by Germany, England, Uruguay and Portugal to complete the top five.
Japan, ranked 22nd in the world, still leads all countries in the Asia zone followed by Australia (24th), South Korea (29th), Iran (48th) and Uzbekistan (63rd).
Every month, FIFA calculates the world rankings of every country based on the result of matches (a win, a loss or a draw), importance of the match (i.e. a friendly or a World Cup match), and the strength of the opponent ranking-wise.
