China men's football team ranked seventh in Asia

China's increased attention on developing the sport is to improve the country's world ranking.

China's increased attention on developing the sport is to improve the country's world ranking. China men's football team are now 82nd in the latest standings. Alain Perrin's team won all three group matches at the AFC Asian Cup late last month, and that helped them to their best result in almost two and a half years.

In Asia, China are ranked seventh, while Iran, South Korea and Japan are the top three teams in the continent. The 2018 World Cup qualifiers will start in June, and Perrin's men could be one of the seeded teams if they remain in the top eight in the continental standings.

On the world scale, the World Champions from Germany remain on top of the FIFA rankings. The top three remain unchanged with Lionel Messi's beaten World Cup finalists Argentina second and Colombia third. Belgium are fourth ahead of northern neighbours the Netherlands.