(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Oman's national football team, coached by Frenchman Paul Le Guen, received a shot in the arm on Thursday when the Red Warriors broke into the top 80 in the world, according to the latest FIFA rankings.
Oman climbed by six places to finish 79th in the first edition of the 2014 FIFA world monthly rankings. It marked one of the biggest jumps for Oman in recent years.
The sultanate team's ranking has been hovering in the eighties and nineties over the past couple of years. Oman's previous best ranking was in September 2009 when it finished 74th.
It had reached 79th in January 2010, after which it slipped out and moved between the eighties and nineties.
Oman's last competitive outing was a 1-0 win against Syria in Tehran, Iran in a qualifier for the 2015 Asian Cup on November 19 last year. Meanwhile, there hasn't been much change in the top 25.
At the top, Spain continues to hold a comfortable lead over Germany and Argentina. Saudi Arabia (73rd; up 14 places) and Egypt (31st; up ten places) made the biggest climbs.
Also, four other teams moved up by at least five places - South Africa (54th; up eight places), UAE (63rd; up eight places), Belize (152nd; up seven places) and Mali (40th; up five places).
Oman to take on Finland in friendly:
In the build-up to Oman's Asian Cup Group A qualifying match against Jordan in Muscat on January 31, the Oman Football Association (OFA) has scheduled a friendly match against Finland, to be played on January 24 at home.
Oman, which has already qualified for the 2015 Asian Cup, has two more home games to play in the group stage. After playing against Jordan, Oman will host Singapore on March 5.
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