Socceroos on course for decade-high world ranking

Australian soccer is expected to get a ray of light this week amid the gloom into which the game has plunged since the Melbourne derby debacle.

The Socceroos, whose World Cup heroics gave the domestic game an injection of hope before the violence at AAMI Park knocked it back, are set to reach their highest position in more than a decade when the FIFA world rankings are released on Thursday.

Graham Arnold’s side, which won two matches in Qatar in reaching the last 16, will climb 11 places to 27th in the rankings. It is the team’s best placing since being 25th in September 2012 under former coach Holger Osieck.

Along with another World Cup surprise package, 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.

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.