Filipinas rise to all-time best No.38 in Fifa world rankings

FILE–Philippines team enjoys the win with some post match photos. New Zealand vs Philippines. Fifa World Cup. (Joe Serci / SPP)

The Philippine women’s football team will end a year to remember by climbing further at No. 38 in the women’s world rankings which was released by Fifa on Friday.

It’s another marked improvement as the Filipinas moved six spots higher from the recent rankings that came out after the Fifa Women’s World Cup which the country participated for the first time.

Results from the Hangzhou Asian Games and the second round of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament under new coach Mark Torcaso allowed the Philippines to reset its best-ever Fifa ranking once more.

Torcaso took over following the departure of fellow Aussie Alen Stajcic after the World Cup and sent the Philippines to the quarterfinals of the Asian Games before falling short of reaching the next round of the Paris Olympic qualifiers.

No friendlies were held in the recent window as the team opted to hold an identification camp not only for senior players but for the U-17 and U-20 squads.

The jump, however, kept the Philippines as the seventh-best team among countries under the Asian Football Confederation and second behind fellow World Cup debutant Vietnam in Southeast Asia.

World Cup champion Spain remained on top of the list followed by the United States, France, England and Sweden.

Completing the top 10 are Germany, Netherlands, Japan, North Korea and Canada.