Socceroos are the 11th best team on the planet according to the final World Cup standings – where were they ranked beforehand?
The Socceroos are expected to climb up the FIFA World Rankings following a historic World Cup that saw them achieve their best ever finish at the tournament.
Despite arriving in Qatar as rank outsiders in Group D, Australia reached the Round of 16 for the first time since 2006 before losing 2-1 to eventual champions Argentina.
Australia’s only other defeat in Qatar, meanwhile, came against eventual runners-up France, who thrashed Graham Arnold’s men 4-1 in their opening game.
Graham Arnold’s Socceroos defied all expectations in Qatar to reach the Round of 16
And the World Cup in Qatar will go down in history as Australia’s best performance in the tournament with the team ranked 11th in the final tournament standings.
Australia won two games at the World Cup for the first time in their history and kept two clean sheets, after going without conceding just once in their five previous appearances at the tournament combined.
Naturally it is Argentina who top the list, after dethroning France in an extraordinary final on Sunday as La Albiceleste ended a 36-year wait for a World Cup.
Croatia are third ahead of Morocco, with the Netherlands, England and Brazil slotting in fifth, sixth and seventh spot respectively.
The World Cup in Qatar will go down in history as Australia’s best performance in football’s biggest tournament as they won two games at the World Cup for the first time in their history
The Socceroos finished 11th on the final World Cup standings as the tournament ended
Portugal, Japan and Senegal complete the top-10 ahead of Australia.
It is important to note, however, the list does not reflect the FIFA World Rankings, which had the Aussies ranked 38th ahead of the tournament.
The first four spots in the World Cup standings are assigned to the winners and the runners-up, followed by the winner and the loser of the third place playoff.
The Netherlands and England are the highest-ranked beaten quarter-finalists by virtue of losing against the eventual champions and eventual finalists respectively.
Argentina topped the rankings after dethroning France in an incredible final on Sunday
Lionel Messi became the first Argentina captain since Diego Maradona in 1986 to lift the World Cup after La Albicelested prevailed on penalties over France
For the same reason, Brazil are ranked ahead of Portugal after losing to third-placed Croatia.
The same method applies to the teams that were knocked out in the Round of 16, which is why Australia are ranked above Spain.
Of the 32 teams at the World Cup, only Canada, Cameroon, Ecuador Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Ghana were ranked below the Socceroos ahead of the tournament.
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