SEOUL– On the heels of a knockout stage appearance at the recent World Cup, South Korea climbed three spots to No. 25 in the latest FIFA rankings released Thursday.
South Korea, who had ended 2021 ranked 33rd, remained the third-highest country from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), behind Japan (No. 20) and Iran (No. 24). This is South Korea’s best ranking position since October 2012.
At the World Cup in Qatar, South Korea recorded a win, a draw and a loss in the group stage to advance to the round of 16, where they lost to Brazil 4-1.
Japan also reached the last 16 and fell to eventual third-place finisher Croatia, while Iran were eliminated in the group stage.
Brazil, despite losing to Croatia in the quarterfinals, remained at No. 1, while the champions Argentina moved up a spot to No. 2. Runners-up France went up from No. 4 to No. 3, while Belgium, who didn’t get past the group stage, slipped two notches to No. 4.
England, the Netherlands, Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Spain rounded out the top 10.
Source: Yonhap News Agency