Vietnam climbed up one place to reach 146th position in the men’s world rankings for the first month of 2016 as announced by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) on January 7.

Vietnam stood 24th in Asia and ranked third in Southeast Asia with 209 points, a nine-point increase against the previous month.

With few international matches played in late 2015 and early 2016, the January ranking saw little change, with Belgium remaining on top of the world with 1,494 points, followed by Argentina and Spain with 1,455 and 1,370 points respectively.

The top three rankings in Asia still went to Iran with 672 points (43rd in the world), the Republic of Korea with 617 points (51st in the world) and Japan with 607 points (53rd in the world).

Thailand registered the biggest hike in FIFA rankings this month, jumping 12 places to 121st in the world and first in Southeast Asia with 285 points, followed by the Philippines with 264 points (135th in the world).

Cuba saw a sharp decline of 45 places to 136th in the world with 259 points, losing 118 points compared to December 2015.

The next FIFA/Coca-Cola men’s world ranking will be announced on February 4.

Source NDO