- Jordan’s FIFA ranking increased to 70th globally, up from its previous year’s ranking of 84th after their recent accomplishment of reaching the Finals in the AFC Asian Cup.
- Qatar saw an increase after winning the Cup for the second time in a row to 37th, up from their last ranking of 52nd in 2023.
- Both countries are currently preparing for their upcoming World Cup Qualifiers that are starting in March of this year.
Jordan, a country with an average ranking of 97 according to FIFA saw a 14-position increase in the last month.
The country has seen rankings as low as 146 in 1996 and as high as 40 in 2004 for men.
The AFC Asian Cup where Jordan’s team with its coach Hussein Amouta, beat Malaysia 4-0, knocked out Iraq and South Korea and reached the Finals for the first time but eventually lost to Qatar 3-1.
Jordan is preparing to participate in the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers starting at the end of March.
Jordan will play two rounds against Pakistan followed by rematches against Tajikistan which the country tied 1-1 in the last qualifiers, lastly, they will rematch against Saudi Arabia after losing 2-0 previously.
The women’s team is not that far behind as it’s ranked at 74th right now, almost mirroring the men’s team at 70th.
Qatar, the AFC Asian Cup winner saw their ranking shoot up to 37 from 2023’s rank of 58, their highest ranking up to date.
For the First time since 2007, the Finals were both between Arab countries in the AFC Asian cup which was a match between Iraq and Saudi Arabia with Iraq winning the cup 1-0.
The Cup currently ranks based on the winnings of each team with the top 5 being:
First Places in the AFC Asian Cup:
Japan: 4
Saudi Arabia: 3
Iran: 3
South Korea: 2
Qatar: 2
