Korea moves up two spots to 33rd in FIFA rankings

After beating Iraq in the second leg of the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup on Tuesday, Korea now stands at 33rd in the FIFA rankings, the third highest Asian country.

Son Heung-min celebrates scoring a penalty in the second leg of the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup against Iraq at Thani bin Jassim Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

After beating Iraq in the second leg of the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup on Tuesday, Korea now stands at 33rd in the FIFA rankings, the third highest Asian country.

Korea moved up two spots with its total of 1507.24 points. It also stands at third on the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) rankings, after Iran and Japan, pushing Australia down to fourth position.

Belgium remained its the top position on the FIFA standings with 1828.45 points, Brazil in second with 1826.35 points and France in third place with 1786.15 points. England and Argentina moved up to fourth and fifth position respectively while Italy dropped to sixth.

Korea’s jump to 33rd position comes after winning both of its FIFA World Cup qualifiers against the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. On Nov. 11, Korea took a 1-0 victory against the United Arab Emirates at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi then went on to beat Iraq 3-0 at Thani bin Jassim Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.

The Taeguk Warriors celebrate after Hwang Hee-chan scores the opening goal against the United Arab Emirates during the second leg of the third round of Asian qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup at Goyang stadium in Goyang, Gyeonngi on Nov. 11. [AP]

Son Heung-min waves to fans after the second leg of the third round of Asian qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup at Goyang stadium in Goyang, Gyeonngi on Nov. 11. [AP]

Korea has been on an undefeated streak since June, after taking a decisive 5-0 win over Turkmenistan. With no losses in six of its 10 matches in the final qualifying round, Korea looks likely to advance to the World Cup finals for the 10th consecutive time. With four wins and two draws, Korea is the current runner-up after first place Iran, which has five wins and one draw. The United Arab Emirates is in third position with one win, three draws and two losses. Lebanon is in fourth place with one win, two draws and three losses. Iraq is in fifth place with no wins, four draws and two losses while Syria is the bottom team with no wins, two draws and four losses.

Korea will take on Lebanon on Jan. 27, then face Syria on Feb. 1. Korea will then face the top team of the group Iran for the last time on March 24. Korea will play its last qualifier against the United Arab Emirates on March 29.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]