With its recent achievement winning the Peace Cup held last October 11-15, 2013 in Bacolod City, the Philippine Men’s National Football Team or the Azkals advanced to the 137th spot of FIFA’s world ranking. This is one of the Philippines’ biggest leaps as it started at the 147th spot in January of this year.
This highest ranking that the Philippines has attained thus far brings the Azkals ahead of other Asean nations: Thailand at 142nd, Myanmar at 149th, Vietnam at 151st, Singapore at 155th, Malaysia at 160th, Indonesia at 167th, Brunei and Timor Leste tied at 163rd and Cambodia at 198th.
PFF Officials are proud for the team’s achievement and are grateful for the support that the Azkals have been given. “This is the result of the hard work and sacrifice of those involved with the national team, particularly the players and the support of the Philippine Football Federation,” said Azkals Team Manager Dan Palami. “Getting the top ranking in Southeast Asia has been our goal since we started with the national team. I’m glad that our efforts have been rewarded. We want to win the Challenge Cup and represent the country in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup,” he added.