Philippine Team Azkals Jump 9 Spots in FIFA Rankings

Azkals climbed nine places in the latest rankings released by the International Football Federation.

The Philippine national football team Azkals is back as top-ranked football team Southeast Asia.

This is after Azkals moved nine spots higher in the FIFA men’s rankings based on the recent list released by FIFA.

This is also following their 2-1 away win over Kyrgyzstan in a friendly last week.

From 134th place, the Philippines jumped to 125th in the world ranking.

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According to the FIFA list released on Thursday, the Azkals now top the Southeast Asian region. It bested their AFF Suzuki Cup group mates Thailand on the 135th place, Singapore on the 155th and Indonesia on the 181st.

“The improvement in our rankings will only motivate the team to prepare well for the Suzuki Cup,” said Azkals manager Dan Palami. “We have to back up our ranking with good performances on the pitch and we can do that by doing well in the Suzuki Cup.”

The Azkals will host the group stage of the AFF Suzuki Cup in November and they will have three more friendlies before plunging to Suzuki Cup.

In the Asian level, the Philippines is ranked 17th while Iran remains on top, followed by Australia, Korea Republic, Uzbekistan, and Saudi Arabia.

The Azkals collected 296 points over the past month based on the ranking system that also weighs results of the past four years, supplanting Thailand as the region’s top side, after returning to action after a five-month hiatus from international play.

The Philippines will tackle Bahrain and North Korea in October, and take on Kyrgyzstan 10 days before the Suzuki Cup.

The Azkals are slated to face Bahrain on Oct. 7 at Philippine Sports Stadium as part of their Suzuki Cup buildup.

It will battle North Korea three days later.

On November 19, the Azkals will play against Singapore during the opening of the Suzuki Cup. In the Group A team, Indonesia will join them in the match.

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