Kyrgyz Republic reached highest ever ranking in April 2018 edition White Falcons soared 40 places to 75th spot Recently reached inaugural AFC Asian Cup after beating Myanmar
The current Kyrgyz Republic squad have been history-makers this past month. Not only did they reach their first ever AFC Asian Cup, they achieved their best ever FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking (75th place in the latest standings) by jumping an incredible 40 spots.
FIFA.com takes a closer look at the factors behind these remarkable achievements.
The results
Kyrgyz Republic 5-1 Myanmar (Shamshiev, Zemlianukhin (2), Lux, Sagynbaev)
Kyrgyz Republic 2-1 India (Zemlianukhin, Murzaev)
The primary driving factor behind both the central Asian nation’s jump up the ranking and their qualification for UAE 2019, was the two victories they picked up in March. The first was a historic win, being the three points in Asian Cup qualifying Group A that sealed their first ever participation at the continental finals. Their defeat of Myanmar was never really in doubt, with Islam Shamsiev and Anton Zemlianukhin putting Aleksandr Krestinin’s side 2-0 up within five minutes. Zemlianukhin plundered a second after the hour mark before goals from Vitalij Lux and Bekzhan Sagynbaev were sandwiched by Kyaw Ko Ko’s consolation.
Next time out, they had to better India’s 1-0 win in the reverse fixture to top Group A, but could ‘only’ manage a 2-1 victory - thanks to goals from Zemlianukhin and Mirlan Murzaev - that saw them finish behind India on head-to-head. Still, the victory further compounded the side’s superlative ranking points total, aiding their remarkable rise to 75th spot.
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