The beautiful game of football is now one of the most popular outdoor sports among the current generation sports. Countries from all around the world are now seeing the potential of the sport and are encouraging football in their turfs.
Being the largest continent on our planet earth by mass land, Asia is one of the biggest participants in the international formats of the game. The game here has evolved to a great extent and Asia has become one of the greatest contributors to the game on the international stage.
Let us take a look at some of these football enthusiast countries and learn more about the Top 10 highest ranked football playing nations in Asia.
10. China
China’s men’s football team represents their nation in the international competitive formats. Even though the team has only once qualified for the FIFA World Cup group stages, China is one of the best teams in Asia. China PR is ranked 78th on the global rankings by FIFA.
Associated with the Asian Football Federation, China also competes in the AFC Asian Cup and is one of the most successful teams in the tournament. They have placed as the runner-up of the tournament twice and also won the silver medal in Asian Games football in 1994.
9. Uzbekistan
China’s recent rival is the nation of Uzbekistan. The national Uzbekistan football squad is just a rank above China in the global rankings and stands on the 77th rank. Uzbekistan has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup since becoming an independent nation.
However, they are among the top teams in Asia. They won the same 1994 Asian Games title in which they beat China in the finals and got their hands on the gold medal. The country of Uzbekistan has also seen a global ranking of 45 for its team in the past.
8. Oman
The Oman national football team of the Oman Football Association is one of the best Asian football national teams. They rank in the 75th position among all the teams in the world. Their best FIFA ranking is 50 on the global charts.
Oman has also never been qualified for the FIFA World Cup Group stages. However, the nation has won two Arabian Gulf Cups twice in 2009 and 2017. Oman is one of the most recent teams in the footballing scenario in comparison to other confederation teams.
7. Iraq
At the global FIFA men’s team rankings, the nation of Iraq stands at the 70th position and is one of the best teams in the region and all of Asia. They went as high as 39 in the rankings in the year 2004.
Just like all other Asian countries, Iraq has also been able to get the World Cup ticket to the Group stages just once in the year 1986 and never since then. Iraq won the AFC Asian Cup in 2007 and the gold medal in the 1982 Asian Games. The team has been awarded the AFC National Team of the Year in 2003 and 2007 and also the World Soccer Team of the Year in 2007.
6. United Arab Emirates
One of the major gulf Nations United Arab Emirates is one of the best footballing Nations in the region. They also have a huge international presence where they are ranked 69th by FIFA on the global leaderboards. Their highest ranking was 40 in the year 1998.
UAE are two times Arabian Gulf Cup title winners. One in 2007 and the other one in 2013. They also placed fourth in the FIFA Arab Cup in 1998. However, the country once qualified for the FIFA World Cup group stages in 1990 and never after that.
5. Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabian national football team is one of the best teams in Asia and has a lot more presence on the international stage than the above 5 nations. Saudi Arabia qualified for the World Cup group stages for a total of 6 times. They will also compete in the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Saudi Arabia is currently ranked 53 on the global FIFA standings and has been seen placed in the 21st rank in the past. They have won the AFC Asian Cup a total of 3 times and the Arabian Gulf Cup three times. A Saudi team has also placed as runner-up in the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1992.
4. Qatar
Saudi Arabia’s rival nation and the host to the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar is also one of the most profound nations in the region. They are currently ranked 48th on the global rankings by FIFA and their highest rankings go on as high as 42nd.
The nation of Qatar will be appearing in the World Cup for the very first time and will be given a first golden opportunity to shine on the global stage. Three times Arabian Gulf Cup champions also won the AFC Asian Cup in 2019 and are the current reigning champions.
3. Korea
The Korean Republic team, also known as the South Korean national football team currently is one of the greatest football teams in Asia and is ranked 28 on the FIFA global men’s team rankings. Their highest seeding was seen as 17th rank among all the international teams.
They also gave a strong fight to the global teams in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and came in fourth place in the same. The Korean team has won the AFC Asian Cup championship a total of two times and has got the gold medal in Asian games thrice.
2. Japan
Japan Football Association’s Japanese national football team is one of the best in Asia. The team currently sits on the 24th position in the global rankings by FIFA and has also been seen in the top 10 of the same ranking system in the past.
The Japan team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup group stage a total of 7 times. They have won the Asian Cup a total of 4 times and placed second in the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001.
1. Iran
Iran’s national Football team is the highest ranked team amongst the Asian teams and is ranked 22nd on the global charts by FIFA. Their highest ranking was seen in 2005 when they placed 15 on the global leaderboard table.
The country of Iran has qualified for the World Cup on 6 different occasions and will also be competing again this year in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Iran is three times Asian Cup champions and four times Asian Games gold medal winners.
