Iran slips down in FIFA rankings

PTV - Iran has dropped one place to 46th in the latest FIFA rankings, but retained its third position in Asia after Japan and Australia.

Japan remained at 36th place, while Australia also dropped one place to 39th in the latest rankings. Saudi Arabia, which will face Iran in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday, stands fourth among Asian teams followed by South Korea.

Iran won the fifth West Asian Football Federation Championship title and beat Azerbaijan 1-0 in a friendly match in Tehran, since the last ranking was released.

Spain has remained top of the list while Italy jumped one spot to reclaim its second position from Germany. The Netherlands, Croatia, Brazil, Argentina, Czech and Portugal rank fourth to ninth.

The only newcomer in the world's top 10 is Turkey, which moved three places forward to replace its Euro 2008 semi-finalist Russia in the 10th position.