The Thailand men’s football team has moved up an impressive 12 positions in the Fifa global rankings released on Thursday.
The War Elephants rose to 101st from 113th place, the world football governing body said.
The Football Association of Thailand indicated in a Facebook post that the rise reflected the team’s strong performances at the recently ended AFC Asian Cup tournament in Qatar.
The team, widely tipped to stay in the basement of the Group stage, surprisingly entered the last 16 as the second-best side in its group with one win and two losses.
Thailand tops all teams in Southeast Asia, followed by Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore.
Argentina are still the best team in the world, ahead of France, who were the runner-up in the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
Thailand will face South Korea in World Cup qualifiers in Seoul on March 21, with the return leg at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok five days later.
Thailand is currently second in Group C after South Korea, with one win and one loss. China and Singapore are the other teams in the group.