Following their 4-2 win over Saudi Arabia, which saw them finish the first round of World Cup qualifying with five wins and one loss, Australia are back in the top 20 for the first time since last September.

It also means the Socceroos will be the top seeds going into the draw for the fourth round of World Cup qualifying, but they could still end up facing old foe Japan.

Korea Republic leapfrogged Japan into 30th place relegating the reigning Asian champions to 33rd and the possibility of facing Australia.

The 10 Asian teams that have qualified for the fourth round will be divided into five pots according to their rankings and one team from each pot will form one of the groups, while the other five nations will form the other.

The final pot allocation will see the Socceroos and Korea placed in Pot 1, Japan and Iran in Pot 2, Uzbekistan and Iraq in Pot 3, Jordan and Qatar in Pot 4, and Oman and Lebanon in Pot 5.

The draw for the next round will be held in Kuala Lumpur on Friday at 7:00pm AEDT.

There was no change at the top of the rankings with Spain holding onto top spot, ahead of the Netherlands, who overtook Germany.

Brazil rose two places to round out the top five, just behind Uruguay with England dropping to sixth place. Portugal, Argentina, Italy and Croatia complete the top 10

Little African nation Sao Tome and Principe were the biggest movers, climbing 53 places to 115th following a 2-1 win over Sierra Leone.