Azkals end year on top of Southeast Asia in FIFA World rankings

CEBU, Philippines -  The Philippines, despite not going home with any titles this year, ended 2014 as the best-ranked team in Southeast Asia according to the FIFA World Rankings.

The Azkals dropped two spots, but still placed 130th to top regional neighbors Vietnam (137th), Myanmar (141st), Thailand (142nd), Malaysia (154th), Singapore (157th), Indonesia (159th) and Laos (160th).

The Azkals came up short in their major tournaments this year. They got beaten out by Palestine for a spot in the Asian Cup after settling for second place in the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup last May and bowed out in the semifinals for the third straight time in the ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup this month.

The Filipinos also failed to defend their Philippine Football Peace Cup title last September, with Myanmar stealing the crown.

World Cup champion Germany finished the year on top of the world ladder, followed by Argentina, Colombia, Belgium and Netherlands.

FIFA calculates every country’s ranking based on match results (a win, a loss or a draw), its importance (i.e. a friendly or a World Cup match), and the strength of the nation’s opponent ranking-wise. These points are then accumulated from the country’s past results in the previous four years.-InterAKTV (FREEMAN)