BD up to 183rd; Belgium on top

Bangladesh were rewarded for their wins against Cambodia and Laos and a draw against Laos with a five-place jump in the latest FIFA rankings, which was published yesterday.

Since the last published ranking in April, the men in red and green beat Laos 1-0 away from home in the first round of pre-qualifiers of the World Cup earlier this month. Jamie Day’s charges then held Laos to a goalless draw at home in the second leg on June 11, earning the World Cup Qualifiers berth while helping their cause of a significant rise in ranking from 188th to 183rd.

The positive results helped Bangladesh overtake Mongolia, Bhutan and Laos and move up to 38th position among 46 Asian nations.

Among the other South Asian nations, India are at 101st position, followed by Maldives at 151st and Nepal at 165th. Bhutan slumped to 186th while Sri Lanka sit at 201st and Pakistan at 205th position.

Meanwhile, Portugal climbed two places to fifth in the rankings after adding the inaugural Nations League title to their European Championship crown.

Fernando Santos’ side leapfrogged Croatia and Uruguay. The Dutch, who failed to qualify for both Euro 2016 and last year’s World Cup, also gained two spots, rising to a tie for 14th. Belgium remain atop the rankings ahead of world champions France after back-to-back 3-0 wins over Kazakhstan and Scotland in Euro 2020 qualifying.