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FIFA have released their new world rankings which places Australia 50th and New Zealand 112.
Australia have moved down three places to 50th by FIFA. The Socceroos were overtaken by Serbia and Japan who placed 44th and 49th respectively.
However, it’s not all bad news for Australia as they were placed higher than Ivory Coast, Algeria and Scotland. Also, Socceroos fans must consider how far Australian football has come.
As recently as 2014 Australia were 102nd, so the national team is defiantly improving.
The Socceroos currently sit on top of their qualification group for the World Cup in 2018, which will be held in Russia.
Australia have 21 points after eight games and are a level above their rivals ahead of a crucial slate of upcoming games. Where do the other teams in Australia’s group sit in the World Rankings?
The countries, with rankings in brackets afterwards, look like this: Jordan (110), Kyrgyzstan (128), Tajikistan (138) and Bangladesh on 193.
Conversely, it was not a great day for New Zealand as they stayed in the same place on 112.
Teams such as Malawi, Namibia and Kazakhstan all rank higher than New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Brazil were ranked first, Argentina second and 2014 World Cup winners Germany third. Other notable movers were Italy, who moved from 15th to 12th along with Colombia who overtook France and Belgium to take fifth place.
2010 World Cup winners Spain were ranked 10th, with England ranked 14th. Both Iceland and Northern Ireland moved up places after their good performances in Euro 2016.
With only one year to go to the World Cup, Australia looks in a solid position to qualify for the tournament and maybe even surprise a few big teams in Russia. New Zealand on the other hand look a tad shaky, but they’ve been known to surprise at world cups before.
What do you think, Roarers? Should Australian fans be happy with their teams place? And is it reflective of just how good Australian football can truly be?
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