Uzbekistan rises in FIFA rankings following CAFA Nations Cup triumph

FIFA released its updated national team rankings on 18 September, which includes 210 countries. Uzbekistan gained 4.19 points since the previous update on 10 July, bringing its total to 1,453.31 points.

In Asia, Uzbekistan trails Japan (19th, down two spots from July), Iran (21st, down one), South Korea (23rd, unchanged), Australia (25th, down one), and Qatar (53rd, unchanged). Iraq (58th, unchanged) and Saudi Arabia (59th, unchanged) follow Uzbekistan in the continental rankings.

The rise in Uzbekistan’s ranking comes after the national team’s impressive performance in the CAFA Nations Cup. In the group stage, Uzbekistan defeated Turkmenistan 2:1 and Kyrgyzstan 4:0, and drew 1:1 with Oman. The team then secured a 1:0 victory over Iran in the final to claim the tournament title.

At the global level, Spain (+1), France (+1), and Argentina (-2) occupy the top three positions. The rest of the top ten includes England, Portugal (+1), Brazil (-1), the Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia (+1), and Italy (+1).

Uzbekistan’s highest-ever FIFA ranking was 45th, achieved from 22 November 2006 to 14 February 2007, while its lowest ranking was 119th in November 1996.