Sports Desk:

Bangladesh have slipped one spot in the latest FIFA rankings following their 2-1 defeat to Singapore on June 10 in the Asian Cup qualifiers at the National Stadium.

Back on March 25, Bangladesh played out a goalless draw against India in Shillong in the same tournament, a result that had lifted Hamza Choudhury and his teammates two places to 183rd in the rankings. However, the loss to Singapore has now dropped them to 184th.

Since June last year, FIFA has updated its rankings eight times, during which Bangladesh have hovered between 183rd and 186th positions.

With the latest update, Bangladesh lost 5.15 points, bringing their total to 899.01. Just above them are Brunei with 900.62 points. Singapore, following their win over Bangladesh, climbed two spots to 159th.

Among South Asian nations, Sri Lanka showed the most improvement, moving up four places to 196th. India dropped six spots to 133rd, the Maldives seven to 171st, Nepal one to 176th, Bhutan four to 186th, and Pakistan three to 201st.

Bangladesh’s highest-ever FIFA ranking was 110th, achieved on April 24, 1996. Since then, a series of underwhelming performances has seen their position gradually decline. In 2018, they recorded their lowest ranking to date—197th.

Meanwhile, reigning world champions Argentina have retained their top spot. Despite a 1–0 win over Chile in June’s World Cup qualifiers, a 1–1 draw with Colombia cost them 0.8 points. Argentina now hold 1885.36 ranking points.

There has been no change in the top five, with Spain, France, England, and Brazil trailing Argentina in that order.

Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo and winners of the UEFA Nations League last June, have moved up one spot to sixth.