Buoyed by the impressive 2-1 away win at Kyrgyzstan during the most recent international break, the Philippine Azkals moved up from 134th to 125th in the world, according to the Coca-Cola FIFA World Ranking Index in its latest edition released today.
The ranking, which highlights the performance of football teams in the past four years, also determined the Philippines as the 17th highest ranked team among the member countries of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). In addition, the Azkals are also the highest ranked team in all of Southeast Asia, something that could boost the morale of the Filipinos ahead of the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup. In the said tournament, the Philippines will host a group with defending champions Thailand (135th), Singapore (155th), and Indonesia (181st), who are raring to go following a suspension that was lifted two months ago.
The Azkals may have had another opportunity to move up the ladder had the Turkmenistan friendly match pushed through as scheduled, but unfortunately the Turkmenistan Football Federation withdrew just few days before the scheduled date. Nonetheless, the Philippines will make the most out of the remaining dates of the international break to prepare for Southeast Asia’s biggest football tournament. Three matches are lined up, featuring FIFA World Cup Qualifiers groupmates Bahrain and North Korea who will the Philippines anew in October. Following them will be Kyrgyzstan, who look to return the favor after dropping their home game against the Azkals, in a match that will be held just 10 days before the start of the AFF Suzuki Cup.
