Socceroos coach Graham Arnold celebrates with Bailey Wright after beating Denmark in Qatar.Credit:Getty Images
It is the team’s best placing since being 25th in September 2012 under former coach Holger Osieck. Along with Morocco,Australia will be this month’s biggest climbers.
Rankings are significant as they are often used for seeding,including in World Cup qualifying as well as at finals. Australia will remain the fourth-highest Asian Football Confederation nation behind Japan (20),Iran (24) and South Korea (25) but will be well clear of fifth-ranked Saudi Arabia (48).
According to ESPN and rankings tracking websites,Brazil will remain No.1 when the official rankings are issued despite being knocked out in the quarter-finals.
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Argentina would have overtaken them if they had won the World Cup final in regulation time,but their penalty shootout victory did not garner enough points to displace their South American rivals.
Argentina will move up to second with France third and Belgium,who exited in the group stage,down to fourth.
Quarter-finalists England and the Netherlands will be next with third-placed Croatia climbing five places to seventh. European champions Italy,who did not qualify for the finals,will be eighth with Portugal and Spain rounding out the top 10. Morocco will be 11th.