South Korea Drops Three Places to 25th in FIFA Rankings After Two Consecutive International Match Defeats

Defeats to Côte d'Ivoire and Austria reflected in ranking

France takes 1st, Spain 2nd, Argentina 3rd

Mexico ranks 15th, Japan 18th, Czech Republic 41st

South Korea's FIFA ranking has dropped to 25th place.

According to the men's football world rankings announced by FIFA on April 1 (local time), South Korea is now ranked 25th. In the first ranking of the new year released in January, which reflected the results of the Africa Cup of Nations, South Korea had been ranked 22nd, but has now fallen by three places. The drop in ranking was attributed to consecutive losses during the FIFA international match window, where the national team led by coach Hong Myungbo lost 0-4 to Ivory Coast and 0-1 to Austria. Among the countries ranked above South Korea, this is the largest drop in ranking.

South Korea's FIFA ranking dropped by three places to 25th. Yonhap News Agency

France defeated Colombia 3-1 and climbed from 3rd to 1st place. Spain and Argentina each dropped one spot to 2nd and 3rd place, respectively. The gap widened further with Japan, the highest-ranked Asian country. During this international match window, Japan defeated Scotland and England 1-0 each, moving up one spot from 19th to 18th place. Iran is ranked 21st.

Mexico, which will face South Korea in Group A of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup group stage, climbed one spot to 15th place. The Czech Republic, which secured a spot in Group A by advancing through the European playoffs, jumped two places to 41st. Among Group A teams, South Africa remains the lowest-ranked at 60th, with no change in its ranking.

Starting this month, FIFA is announcing rankings and points in real time, reflecting the results of international matches as they happen. The next rankings will be released after incorporating the results of matches held during the last international match window before the opening of the North and Central America World Cup, which runs from June 1 to 9.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.