A FIFA report shows Japan's continued strong position in the World Ranking, specifically the men's rankings within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), as of November 30, 2023.
This marks the seventh consecutive time the Samurai Blue have topped the FIFA regional rankings in Asia, a streak beginning on December 22, 2022.
Japan's advancement, fueled by points earned throughout November 2023, follows their progression to the Round of 16 in the 2022 World Cup.
The Japanese national team gained 7.2 points, reaching a total of 1,620.19 points – the highest in the region.
In the past month, Japan secured two victories in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, defeating Canada 5-0 (November 16, 2023) and Syria 5-0 (November 21, 2023).
The rankings from second to eighth in Asia remained unchanged from the previous month, with Iran, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates maintaining their positions in November 2023.
Uzbekistan climbed one spot to ninth place, thanks to a 3-1 victory over Turkmenistan (November 16, 2023) in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. This win added 12.17 points to their total, bringing their score to 1,345.26 points.
Conversely, Indonesia lags significantly behind Japan and other top Asian teams, including Uzbekistan.
The Garuda team dropped one position to 146th as of November 30, 2023, losing 5.81 points to reach 1,064.01 points last month.
This decline is attributed to their 1-5 defeat against Iraq in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers last month (November 16, 2023).
The top 10 Asian nations in the FIFA rankings as of November 30, 2023, are:
1. Japan: 1,620.19 points
2. Iran: 1,565.08 points
3. South Korea: 1,550.65 points
4. Australia: 1,539.22 points
5. Saudi Arabia: 1,421.06 points
6. Qatar: 1,407.3 points
7. Iraq: 1,365.98 points
8. United Arab Emirates: 1,364.46 points
9. Uzbekistan: 1,345.26 points
10. Oman: 1,324.89 points