TEHRAN – Iran national football team jumped seven spots to 24th in the latest FIFA world rankings released on Thursday.

Team Melli registered four wins in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the UAE before losing to Japan 3-0 in the semifinals.

Japan, whose bid for a fifth AFC Asian Cup title was thwarted by Qatar in the final, also saw a surge in their ranking as they improved by 23 spots to 27 to sit behind Iran.

Korea Republic are third in Asia after improving to 38 from 53 and Australia, whose defense of the AFC Asian Cup title ended in the quarterfinals, dropped by one to 42 in the world and are fourth in Asia.

Qatar, the Asian Cup champions, made a huge leap from No. 93 to No. 55 in the rankings and moved to fifth place in Asia.

The top-three teams did not change, with Belgium first, followed by 2018 World Cup champions France and Brazil.