S. Korea start 2018 at No. 59 in FIFA world football rankings

In this file photo taken Dec. 15, 2017, South Korean football players train at the West Field near Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo ahead of their East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship match against Japan. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Yonhap) — South Korea started the new year as the world’s 59th placed football team in the FIFA rankings.

According to the January men’s rankings table released by FIFA on Thursday, South Korea moved up one spot to No. 59 with 569 points. South Korea were the world’s 37th-ranked team one year ago.

The Taeguk Warriors, having qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, had the fourth highest position among Asian Football Confederation (AFC) members. Iran fell two spots to No. 34, but remained the top-ranked Asian team. Australia jumped two spots to No. 36, while Japan climbed a spot to No. 56.

Germany, one of South Korea’s Group F opponents at the World Cup in Russia, stayed at No. 1. Mexico slipped one spot to 17th, while Sweden remained at 18th.

South Korea, led by head coach Shin Tae-yong, will open pre-World Cup training camp in Antalya, Turkey, next week. During their two-week training, South Korea are scheduled to play friendly matches with Moldova, Jamaica and Latvia.

Jamaica had the highest ranking among the three at 55th, followed by Latvia at 133th and Moldova at 166th, according to the new rankings.

Poland and Northern Ireland, two teams that South Korea will face in March friendlies, were ranked eighth and 25th, respectively.