Socceroos finish year inside top 50

Australia didn’t play an international match during December but moves up one spot to 47^th in the world, leapfrogging the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Socceroos will subsequently finish the year as the fourth highest ranked nation in the Asian Football Confederation behind Iran (29^th), Korea Republic (37^th) and Japan (45^th).

Ange Postecoglou’s side have drawn its past three matches, against Thailand, Japan and Saudi Arabia in 2018 World Cup qualifying.

Australia’s next fixture isn’t until 23 March in World Cup qualifying in Tehran against Iraq, before a clash with UAE in Sydney five days later.

The Socceroos’ best ranking all year was 40^th in October, while the side drifted out to 68^th in February.