Tehran, April 11, IRNA - Iran gained 689 points to jump two spots in the latest FIFA world football rankings to stand 40th and first in Asia, followed by Japan (614 points), South Korea (575), Australia (531) and the UAE (523).




The 2014 World Cup champion Germany is leading the standings and Argentina is second, Iran Daily reported.

Belgium rose to its highest-ever spot at No. 3 in the latest FIFA monthly rankings ahead of Colombia after its Euro 2016 qualifying wins last month.

Brazil, which beat France in a friendly last month, rose to No. 5 and swapped its place with the Netherlands at No. 6.

Switzerland and Spain return to the top 10, at Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.

Bhutan jumped 46 places from the foot of the FIFA rankings to 163rd after recording its first ever World Cup qualifying victories.

The Himalayan nation beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in Colombo and 2-1 in Thimphu last month to advance to the second round of Asian qualifying and, after reaching its highest ranking, will be among the fourth seeds for Tuesday's draw.

Anguilla replaced Bhutan as FIFA's 209th and lowest ranked international side after losing 8-0 on aggregate to Nicaragua in the first round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying last month.


By IRNA