June 9 – There might have been no change at the top of the Women’s World Ranking, but lower down the list Bhutan are climbing the mountain.
The Buddhist kingdom in the Eastern Himalayas has risen to 171st, a climb of seven places in the 188-nation ranking. Perhaps what is more significant is what appears to be a closing gap in the performance levels of teams outside the top 50 in the ranking.
Bhutan’s rise follows wins over Jordan – ranked 73rd and almost 100 places above Bhutan – and Timor-Leste (156th). The biggest fallers in the ranking also come from Asia. Indonesia slipped six places to 105th.
Bhutan are a place behind Saudi Arabia who were only ranked for the first time three months ago but have continued their rise.
At the other end of the global hierarchy, the top 5 remaining unchanged. USA are followed by the European quartet of Germany, Sweden, England, and France.
Below them Spain have gained a place to sixth while Olympic Champions Canada have dropped to seventh.
“Among the sides occupying that elevated part of the Ranking, Denmark (13th, plus 2), Nigeria (40th, plus 2) and Philippines (46th, plus 3) have all made modest moves, though the biggest changes can be found further down,” highlighted FIFA.
“Some 11 countries have also broken their FIFA Ranking points records: Spain (2002.28), Republic of Ireland (1743.59), Slovenia (1556.25), Philippines (1512.97), Zambia (1298.31), Cambodia (1144.56), Cyprus (1134.28), Lebanon (1062.88), Pakistan (944.58), Saudi Arabia (844.30) and Bhutan (841.86).”
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