UAE slide four places to 112th in latest Fifa rankings

World Cup qualifying defeats to Kuwait and Lebanon see UAE side slide, but they are not the only Gulf nation falling down the rankings.

Two defeats in the third round of Asian qualification for the 2014 World Cup has seen the UAE fall four places in the latest Fifa rankings.

The UAE's slide to 112th this month comes after a 3-2 defeat to Kuwait in Al Ain, followed by a 3-1 reversal in Lebanon.

Only their 3-0 friendly win over Qatar before their World Cup qualifiers prevented a further drop down the table in September, which saw the demise of the Slovenian coach Srecko Katanec as a result of their two defeats.

It was not a great month for almost all of the Gulf countries. Apart from Iraq, who did not change position, each have dropped in the rankings due to a number of factors such as qualification tournaments elsewhere in the world and simply poor form.

Qatar, 97th in the world, is now the leading Gulf nation thanks largely to Saudi Arabia (98) falling down 11 places.

Kuwait round out the top 100, dropping five places despite a successful month which saw them defeat the UAE and hold South Korea to a 1-1 draw.

Bahrain (104) and Oman (106) each drop three places, while Iraq stay at 109th in the world. Yemen move down four places to 137th.

The dramatic drop by many Asian nations is coupled with more qualifying matches played in the African and the Concacaf federations.

For example, Niger and Togo from Africa, and Haiti and Guatemala from the Concacaf zone, all climb above the UAE following their successful qualifying campaigns last month.

Selected Fifa rankings for September

1. Spain
2. Holland
3. Germany
4. Uruguay
5. Portugal
6. Italy
7. Brazil
8. England
9. Croatia
10. Argentina
36. Egypt
97. Qatar
98. Saudi Arabia
100. Kuwait
104. Bahrain
106. Oman
109. Iraq
112. UAE
137. Yemen