Iran remains fifth in Futsal Men’s World Ranking, drops to 10th in women’s division
Iran retained the fifth spot in the latest FIFA Futsal Men’s World Ranking, released by the sport’s international governing body on Friday.
Having won a sensational gold medal at November’s Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, the Asian powerhouse collected 1,484.23 points to remain the top team in the continent.
Vahid Shamsaei’s team defeated Morocco 5-0 in the final in the Saudi capital, making amends for last year’s quarterfinal exit against the African champion at the Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan.
Iran is now preparing for the upcoming AFC Futsal Asian Cup, starting January 26 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The record 13-time champion will begin its title defense in Group D against Malaysia on January 28, before facing Saudi Arabia two days later. The final group fixture will see Shamsaei’s men take on Afghanistan on February 1 – a rematch of their 2-2 draw in Riyadh.
The top seven of the Men’s Ranking remained unchanged, with world No. 1 Brazil followed by Portugal, Spain, and Argentina. Morocco and Russia stand immediately behind Iran.
In the Women’s Ranking, meanwhile, Iran dropped one spot to 10th with 1,157.19 points – third in Asia behind Japan, which is sixth, and eighth-placed Thailand.
Iran participated in the recently concluded Women’s World Cup in the Philippines but failed to advance beyond the group stage. Shahrzad Mozaffar’s team suffered a 4-1 defeat to Brazil in their Group D opener but bounced back to defeat Panama 6-2 in their second game in Pasig. A 3-1 loss to Italy, however, left Iran behind the European side in the group standings, allowing Brazil and Italy to advance to the quarterfinals.
Brazil, which went on to defeat Portugal in the final last week, topped the Women’s Ranking, followed by Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Italy, Japan, Colombia, Thailand, and Russia.