'Hong Myung-boo'South Korea ranks 23rd in FIFA rankings'in place'...日위16 is 16th place 'Asia 1st place', Shin Tae-yong's Indonesia '4 steps UP'

Sep 20, 2024

Photo capture=AFC

South Korea has taken a step back in place in the FIFA rankings.

FIFA released the FIFA rankings in September on the 19th (Korea time). Korea remained in 23rd place. South Korean football, which has transformed into coach Hong Myung-bo, played two games in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup in North Korea and the U.S. in September. The result was one win and one draw. They had a shock 0-0 draw against Palestine at home on the 5th, but won 3-1 in the second match against Oman on the 10th. South Korea was ranked 23rd last month, the third among Asian Football Confederation (AFC) members.

No. 1 player in Asia was Japan. Japan moved up two spots from 18th to 16th. Japan showed off its powerful performance in two matches of the third qualifying round. Following a 7-0 victory over China in the first leg, he also won the second leg against Bahrain 5-0. Japan recently maintained its strongest position in Asia, producing an amazing result of winning all six A matches.

Second place was Iran. Iran won two consecutive games in the third qualifying round, taking its ranking a notch from 20th to 19th.

The two Korean coaches had mixed feelings of joy and sorrow. Indonesia, led by head coach Shin Tae-yong, raised its FIFA ranking from 133rd to 129th, creating a stir by drawing both the strongest teams in Asia, Saudi Arabia and Australia. It ranked 23rd in Asia. Coach Kim Sang-sik's Vietnam ranked 116th, down one level. Asia's 21st place.

The most prominent country was Qatar. It went down ten steps. Qatar, which won its second consecutive Asian Cup title by winning the last Qatar Asian Cup, entered the third qualifying round with much expectation, but showed poor performance. Against the United Arab Emirates, which is 35 places lower in FIFA rankings, it suffered a one-on-one defeat at home. In the United Arab Emirates, former coach Paulo Bento is at the helm. Qatar, which drew 2-2 against North Korea, then fell from 34th to 44th.

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China also dropped four places. China, which barely made it to the third qualifying round, had the worst results in two games. Following a humiliating 0-7 loss to Japan at home, the team also suffered a come-from-behind loss of 1-2 against Saudi Arabia. He scored only one goal in two games, but he scored an own goal. North Korea was ranked 111th, down one notch.

In the overall standings, Argentina remained firmly in first place. France came in second, Spain in third, England in fourth, and Brazil in fifth. It was interesting that there was no change in the rankings from 1st to 15th in this month's rankings.

◇Asia FIFA Top 10

Japan = 16th (↑2)

Iran = 19th (↑1)

Korea = 23rd place (-)

Australia = 25th (↓1)

Qatar = 44th (↓10)

Iraq = 55th (-)

Saudi Arabia = 56th (-)

Uzbekistan = 60th (↑1)

Jordan = 68th (-)

UAE = 69th place (-)

vanbasten@sportschosun.com

'Hong Myung-boo'South Korea ranks 23rd in FIFA rankings'in place'...日위16 is 16th place 'Asia 1st place', Shin Tae-yong's Indonesia '4 steps UP'

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