Filipinas climb to 44th globally after historic FIFA Women's World Cup debut

The Philippine women's national football team (PWNFT), also known as "Filipinas", improved to a program-high 44th place in the latest rankings after the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup released on Friday, August 25.

Filipinas claimed the Philippines' first-ever win in a World Cup in their tournament debut behind a 1-0 triumph against host New Zealand, thanks to a Sarina Bolden header.

Handled by former PWNFT head coach Alen Stajcic, the nationals finished with a 1-0-2 win-draw-loss record as the lowest-ranked nation in Group A, also featuring Switzerland and Norway.

The recent results gave them enough ranking points to move two places higher from 46th to overtake Southeast Asian rival Thailand (46th) as the third-best country in the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), including Australia.

In Asia, the Philippines rose to number seven, joining Japan as the only movers in the continent.

The Nadeshiko overtook Australia as the top Asian Football Confederation (AFC) team after moving three notches higher to enter the top 10 in eighth place. Meanwhile, World Cup fourth placer Matildas fell to 11th worldwide.

This came after the arrival of reigning A-League Coach of the Year Mark Torcaso as the new Filipinas mentor. The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) announced the development last August 23 after a week-long homecoming celebration for PWNFT.

Torcaso replaced Stajcic, who departed from the national team two days after the World Cup. He is joined by his Western United coaching staff members Sinisha Cohadzic and Andrew Durante as assistant coaches for the Philippines.

The 42-year-old is tasked to prepare the Filipinas for the upcoming Asian Games this September in Hangzhou, China.

It will be the maiden appearance of the PWNFT in the continental multisport competition, with a chance to continue its success on the international stage.

Bunched alongside the Filipinas are South Korea (rank 17), Myanmar (rank 50), and Hong Kong (rank 78).

Following the Asiad is the AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament second round in October, with the Philippines taking on Australia, Chinese Taipei, and Iran.

Big changes above the rankings occurred, with Sweden becoming the world number one while the United States of America (U.S.A.) dropped to third place.

Sweden, the 2023 World Cup bronze medalist, jumped two places higher while four-time winner U.S.A. went two notches lower after a Round of 16 exit. The Blue and Yellow eliminated the Stars and Stripes after a tightly contested penalty shootout.

Reigning champion Spain leapfrogged from sixth place to second after beating the Lionesses of England in the finals. The English side remained in fourth spot.

France also maintained its position at fifth place, while the Netherlands ranked seventh from ninth place.

Erstwhile second-ranked Germany moved four places lower to sixth after a disappointing elimination in the group stages.

Opening their World Cup campaign with a dominant 6-0 blanking of debutant Morocco, the Germans couldn't sustain momentum. They absorbed a shocking 2-1 defeat over Colombia before South Korea held them to a 1-1 draw in their last group match. It was the first time in their nine World Cup appearances the two-time titlist failed to qualify for the knockout rounds.

Defending Olympic champion Canada also stumbled in the rankings, landing 10th after staying in seventh place.

The Canucks finished third in Group B with a win over World Cup first-timer Republic of Ireland after a nil-nil draw against Nigeria. They blew their chance to reach the last sixteen after losing to Australia, 4-0.

Four of the five highest movers from participating nations in the World Cup are from Africa, with a Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) nation sharing the spoil with them.

Morocco, South Africa, Zambia, and Nigeria, all African nations, bumped up places in the ranking, while Jamaica enjoyed the party as well.

Leading the way is now 58th Morocco, which traveled to Down Under as the second lowest-ranked team of the tournament at 72nd, jumping 14 places higher.

The Altas Lionesses qualified for the Round of 16 in their first World Cup stint from Group G by clinching two hard-fought victories against South Korea and Colombia after absorbing a humiliating loss to Germany.

Next to the Moroccans is South Africa, which previously occupied the 54th spot before leapfrogging to 45th. The Banyana Banyana survived Group G, barging to their maiden last sixteen in two quadrennial meets qualification – the first in 2019.

The 2022 Africa Women's Cup of Nations winner only lost to Sweden by 2-1 in their World Cup opener before drawing Argentina (2-2) and stunning Italy in a back-and-forth five-goal clash, 3-2.

Nigeria moved eight places higher from the 40th to the 32nd. The Super Falcons impressed in Australia, beating the host by 3-2 and scoring goalless draws versus Canada and the Republic of Ireland.

Like Nigeria, Zambia rose by eight places from 77th to 69th. Undeterred by back-to-back 5-0 losses against Japan and Spain, the Copper Queens claimed their first victory at the expense of Costa Rica, 3-1, to end Group C on a winning note.

Last but not the least, the Reggae Girlz of Jamaica racked six places above the ranking to rank 37th in the world. This should not come as a surprise, considering the Jamaicans booked a Round of 16 ticket for the first time in its history.