Shock! 15 → 17th → 19th place plunged 4 places in 4 months after another fall...World Cup port 2 risk concern
Sep 19, 2025
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FIFA announced its latest ranking on the 18th (Korea time). Japanese soccer ranked 19th. FIFA announced the world ranking three times this year, following April and July, through September. Japan ranked 15th, 17th and 19th, respectively.
Football Zone, a Japanese soccer media outlet, said 'Japanese soccer plunged as it fell four spots in FIFA rankings for the first time in more than four months. However, he remained in the lead among the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) countries, according to the report.
The Japanese national soccer team, led by coach Hajime Moriyasu, bowed its head in an away match in the U.S. in September. It drew 0-0 with Mexico and lost 0-2 to the United States. Football Zone said it was losing ground to Switzerland and Senegal because of the away result in September.
The media outlet said 'Japan qualified for the finals in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup in the A-match in March. It remained in 15th place until May, the highest ever. However, the ranking fell after losing to Australia in the A-match in June. It fell to 17th place in July. Japan is set to play A matches with Paraguay-Brazil at home in October and Bolivia in November. It is a battle against South American powerhouses. You have to win to be in Port 2 in the World Cup draw,' he added.
Meanwhile, the South Korean national football team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, remained in 23rd place this time after April and July. South Korea had one win and one draw in the away game in the U.S. in September. In his first game against the U.S., he won 2-0. It drew 2-2 with Mexico. South Korea has maintained its third place in Asia. However, other teams have experienced a decline. Iran, as well as Japan, dropped one notch from 20th to 21st. Australia also fell from 24th to 25th.
In the overall ranking, Spain and France moved up one place to first and second, respectively. Argentina, which was previously ranked No. 1, fell to No. 3. Spain won two consecutive European qualifiers for the North Korea-China World Cup in September. Spain has returned to the top of the FIFA rankings for the first time in 11 years and three months since June 2014.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
