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PHL 159th in latest FIFA rankings, Sri Lanka 171st


The International Federation of Association Football (Fédération Internationale de Football Association, FIFA) has updated its global rankings of the men's national football teams and in it the Philippines slipped three places to 159th while Sri Lanka went two steps down the ladder to 171st. The national teams of the Philippines and Sri Lanka meet Wednesday in Colombo for the first leg of their Round 1 match in the 2014 World Cup Asian Qualifiers. They have an even record against each other in their two prior meetings, with one win each. "Boosted by their recent qualification for the AFC Challenge Cup 2012, however, Philippines are expecting to go one better this time around. Sri Lanka, for their part, will look to capitalize upon home advantage and earn a cushion to carry into the return leg," according to FIFA on its website. The winner after the second leg on July 3 in Manila will advance to Round 2 to meet Kuwait, which is 102nd in the updated FIFA Rankings. If the Philippines wins Round 1, it will have a home game on July 28, also at the refurbished Rizal track and football stadium. In the new rankings, Mexico advanced the most, moving up 19 places to 9th place because of their victory at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Mexico returned to the top ten for the first time since July 2007. - JVP, GMA News

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