Filipinas rise six places in FIFA world rankings

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine women’s national football team will end the year the same way it started — continuing its meteoric rise in the global scene.

This as the Filipinas, who highlight their 2023 campaign with a debut stint in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup where they were able to tally a win, moved up six more places in the latest edition of the FIFA Women’s Ranking released Friday.

They crash the Top 40 in a list now ruled by reigning World Cup champion Spain as champion USA settled for second in the last edition of the rankings for 2023.

Meanwhile, Sweden, who previously ranked No. 1, crashed four places down to No. 5 after failing to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics — marking the first time the Swedes miss out on the tournament in the Summer Games.

Apart from the World Cup, the Filipinas also enjoyed success in the Asian Games where they reached the quarterfinals.

They most recently played in the second round of the AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Perth where they failed to reach the final round of qualifiers for the Paris Games.

Still, there is much to be optimistic about in the team as they also recently held a identification camp in California for both the women’s team and youth squads.

The Filipinas are currently being coached by Mark Torcaso after former Aussie coach Alen Stajcic left his post after the World Cup.