The Philippine national football team or more popularly known as the Philippine Azals climbed four rungs in the first FIFA world rankings for the year 2016. The Azkals is now ranked at 135th place which is four places higher compared to their 139th rankings last December 2015.
The Philippines is also the second best national teams in Southeast Asia which was dominated by Thailand who ranked higher at 121st worldwide.
The Azkals is also higher in terms of FIFA rankings against traditional Southeast Asian powerhouse Vietnam, now ranked at 146th and the former Middle Eastern powerhouse team, Kuwait which ranks 141st in the latest FIFA Rankings.
Dominating the FIFA rankings for January 2016 is the powerhouse football nations, such as Belgium, Argentina, Spain, Germany, Chile, Brazil, Portugal, Colombia, England and Austria which ranked as the Top 10 national football team respectively.
The Philippines hopes to make it to the World Cup in Brazil but loses its last few games. The national team are currently at third in Group H with two wins, one draw, and three losses. They will go up against Uzbekistan and North Korea for the remainder of the qualifiers.