Korea moves up 2 spots to 49th in FIFA rankings

South Korea has re-entered the top 50 in the latest FIFA rankings after moving up two spots from last month.

According to the August ranking unveiled by FIFA on Thursday, South Korea jumped two spots to No. 49 with 674 points. South Korea, however, still trails three Asian Football Confederation members in FIFA rankings: Iran (24th), Japan (44th) and Australia (45th).

In July, South Korea moved out of the top 50 for the first time since June 2016 after the men's national team lost 3-2 to Qatar in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and played to a scoreless draw with Iraq in a friendly match in June.

The Taeguk Warriors are scheduled to play two international matches before the next FIFA rankings are released on Sept. 14. Shin Tae-yong's side will host Iran on Aug. 31 and face No. 64 Uzbekistan in Tashkent on Sept. 5 in World Cup qualification.

Meanwhile, Brazil returned to the top position after pushing Germany to No. 2. Argentina was third, followed by Switzerland and Poland.

FIFA rankings are based on the average number of points that a team accumulates over a four-year period. The ranking points in each match are determined by its result, its value and the relative strength of the opponent and their confederation. The system also has a yearly basis depreciation for the value of the matches. (Yonhap)