Iran men’s national futsal team has maintained its position as Asia’s best in the latest Asociación Mundial de Futsal (AMF) rankings, but dropped one spot in the world’s overall standings to claim the sixth slot.

According to the latest classification published by the AMF, which is the governing body of futsal, the Iranian squad notched up 1,609 points.

Japan kept the 10th slot in the latest AMF rankings with 1,411 points. The East Asians are followed by Kazakhs and Thais, who have claimed the 15th and 17th places respectively with 1,331 and 1,314 points.

Spaniards are the top-ranked futsal team in the world with 1,923 points. Brazil earned 1,909 points to sit in the second position, while third-placed Russians amassed 1,752 points. Italy bagged 1,687 points to stand fourth.

On December 20, Iran’s futsal team won the four-nation tournament in China, which served as a warm-up for the 2016 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Futsal Championship in Uzbekistan early next year, following a 3-3 draw with the hosts.

The four-nation tournament in China started in the eastern Chinese city of Changshu on December 18, and finished on December 21.

The 2016 AFC Futsal Championship will be the 14th edition of the AFC Futsal Championship. It will be staged in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on February 10-21.

Iran has been drawn alongside China, Iraq and Jordan in Group B of the forthcoming sports event.

The Chinese hosts, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia form Group A, while Chinese Taipei, Tajikistan, Thailand and Vietnam were drawn in Group C. Group D consists of Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Qatar.

The top two teams in each group will qualify for the knock-out stage. The top five teams will qualify for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup, which will be the 8th edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, in Colombia.

By Press TV