Iran remained the highest ranked Asian side at 30th

PLDC - Iran remained the highest ranked Asian side at 30th (up 2). Japan (32, up 1) , Saudi Arabia (34), and Korea Republic (41, up 1) are the only other Asian teams in the top-50 although China, who are currently ranked 50th (up 1), are on the verge of joining them.

The last FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking before this year’s showcase event in Korea and Japan reveals no major surprises. All 32 finalist teams are now placed in the Top 50, in fact, with the exception of Senegal and China, they are actually all among the best 40 teams. While a solitary point is often enough to separate teams in the ranking, the race behind leaders France is really hotting up with Brazil and Argentina equal on points in second place.

Inside the Top 50, only two teams – Ireland Republic (15th, up 3) and Slovenia (25th, up 3) – climb more than two places. Nevertheless, three World Cup participants claim their best ever placing in the ranking: Cameroon (17th, up 1), Turkey (22nd, up 2), and Senegal (42nd, up 1).

Similarly, there are no significant movers lower down the list. Only Lithuania (99th, up 6), Swaziland (124th, up 8), and Ethiopia (134th, up 6) gain more than 5 places. 47 friendly matches were played in the past four weeks around the world, bringing the total number of “A” international matches contested so far in 2002 to 244.

The positions in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking confirm the overwhelming strength of World Cup Group F (Argentina, England, Sweden and Nigeria), but also show that Group G (Italy, Mexico, Croatia and Ecuador) can by no means be scoffed at, and, on paper, the allegedly easy draw for World Champions France (Denmark, Uruguay, and Senegal) is in fact no easy ride.

http://www.fifa.com/rank/main_E_latest.html