Korea's national football team maintained its position at 23rd in the FIFA ranking.
According to the men's ranking released by FIFA on July 10 (Korea time), Korea was listed in the same 23rd place as in the previous April. Korea has maintained the same rank since November of last year. Its points slightly increased from 1574.93 to 1587.08, but there was no change in ranking.
This is thanks to the victories in the June A matches, the final matches of the third round of qualifying for the 2026 North American World Cup. The Korean national team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, secured its 12th World Cup finals berth by defeating Iraq 2-0 in an away match on the 5th of last month, and finished the qualifying rounds on a high note with a 4-0 victory against Kuwait at home on June 10.
Thanks to this, Hong Myung-bo's team finished the third round of qualifying unbeaten (6 wins, 4 draws) and took first place in Group B. It is the only unbeaten team among Asian countries. At the same time, they achieved the remarkable feat of qualifying for the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, placing them 6th in history, after Brazil (22 times), Germany (18 times), Italy (14 times), Argentina (13 times), and Spain (12 times).
Korea also dominated China 3-0 in the first match of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) held on the 7th. However, this victory was not reflected in the current ranking.
In Asia, Japan still boasts the highest ranking. Japan maintains its top position among countries belonging to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) at 17th in the FIFA rankings. Iran (20th), Korea, Australia (24th), Qatar (53rd), and Uzbekistan (55th) follow.
However, both Japan and Iran, who are vying for the top position in Asia, dropped two spots compared to the previous rankings. Both countries secured their World Cup finals spots before Korea and recorded one win and one loss in the June A matches.
In particular, Japan's failure to achieve an unbeaten record in qualifying, losing 0-1 to Australia, led to a reduction in their points. Japan focused on experimentation by excluding many key players and giving opportunities to substitute players during the June A matches.
All other Asian countries are outside the top 50. China remains at 94th, and Vietnam, led by coach Kim Sang-sik, dropped four spots to 113th. Indonesia, which appointed Patrick Kluivert as the new coach after Shin Tae-yong's dismissal, moved up from 123rd to 118th. North Korea dropped one spot to 119th, falling behind Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the top FIFA ranking still belongs to Argentina, led by Lionel Messi. Argentina has consistently held the top spot since winning the 2022 Qatar World Cup in April 2023.
There are no significant changes in the top tier. Argentina, Spain, France, England, and Brazil have maintained their ranks from April, holding 2nd to 5th positions, respectively. Portugal, which won the UEFA Nations League last month, moved up to 6th, overtaking the Netherlands.
As the World Cup approaches, the FIFA ranking is becoming even more important. The 48 countries participating in the 2026 North American World Cup will be seeded based on the FIFA ranking at the group draw scheduled for December. Therefore, the rankings may change based on time and performance.
In this tournament, the host countries Canada, the United States, and Mexico, along with the top 9 ranked nations, will be placed in Group 1, those ranked 10th to 21st will be in Group 2, 22nd to 33rd in Group 3, and 34th to 45th in Group 4.
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