The Korean national soccer team's FIFA ranking dropped one notch to 23rd. This is the aftermath of the second Asian qualifying draw with Thailand at home last month for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America.
According to the FIFA rankings released by FIFA on April 4, Korea recorded 1,563.99 points, down 2.22 points from February, falling from 22nd to 23rd in February. As a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Korea managed to maintain its third place after Japan (18th) and Iran (20th).
Earlier, Korea tied Thailand 1-1 at home and won 3-0 in away matches at the second Asian qualifying round for the World Cup, which was held under interim coach Hwang Sun-hong last month. At the time, Thailand was ranked 101st in FIFA rankings. Points are calculated by reflecting each other's FIFA rankings, but the score was reduced due to the draw against Thailand that was held at home. Among the top 15 AFC countries, Korea is the only country that has seen its FIFA ranking points decrease compared to February.
Although the team could have fallen to fourth place in Asia by losing to Australia, it managed to maintain its third place thanks to its 3-0 win in away matches. Korea is only 0.06 points shorter than Australia, which is ranking 24th in FIFA rankings. If the team drops to fourth place in Asia depending on the results of the fifth and sixth rounds of the Asian qualifying round to be held in June, it will lose ground in the top seed (Port 1) in the final qualifying round.
South Korea's FIFA ranking fell from 27th place in April last year to 28th place in June, but it steadily rose, ranking 26th in September, 24th in October, and 23rd in November. However, following the elimination of the AFC Asian Cup semifinals in February, the ranking rose only one place, and the score was further reduced due to the draw against Thailand, which led to a decline in the ranking.
In the AFC, Qatar (34th), Saudi Arabia (53rd), Iraq (58th), Uzbekistan (64th), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (67th) and Jordan (71st) were listed in the top 10 after Japan, Iran, South Korea and Australia. Indonesia, led by coach Shin Tae-yong, jumped eight notches to 134th. China maintained its 88th position, while Vietnam dropped 10 notches to 115th and North Korea 118th.
The first and second place overall were Argentina and France, which remained unchanged from February. Belgium swapped rankings with England to move to third place, while Brazil maintained fifth place. Spain, Italy and Croatia maintained the top 10 while Portugal overtook the Netherlands to sixth place.
BY: 토토