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China drop for third straight month
By Fang Xuan (m.hwdly.com.cn)
Updated: 2005-11-24 17:25
China slid four places down to No. 69 in the just-released November FIFA
rankings. This is the third straight month that China has dropped in the
rankings.
China's ranking within Asian countries also dropped one spot to seventh,
after Japan, Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait.
Lack of international matches is thought to be the main culprit behind
China's continuous fall. The early exit at the 2006 World Cup qualifiers made
China have only one game -- a one to nil loss to Germany in a friendly --
capable of being counted in FIFA's point-calculation system.
Although China was crowned this month at the East Asian Games in Macau, the
men's soccer matches were unluckily ruled ineligible for international class-A
match status. China's 2-0 home loss against Serbia-Montenegro in a friendly was
also excluded.
Japan climbed one slot in the FIFA rankings to 15th, which is one place ahead
of World Cup hosts Germany. Another Asian power Iran moved forward two places to
reach 19th. South Korea retained last month's rankings of third in Asia and No.
29 in the world.
The Czech forced their way up to No. 2 after two victories over Norway in
World Cup Qualification playoffs. Brazil's firm occupation atop the ranking
continues.
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