Zurich, Jan 7: India moved up three places to the 163rd spot in the FIFA football rankings, released on Thursday, after its SAFF Cup triumph this month.

India defeated Afghanistan 2-1 in the final on January 3 in Thiruvananthapuram to lift the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup for a record-stretching seventh time.

India went unbeaten in the regional tournament, beating Sri Lanka 2-0, Nepal 4-1 in the group stages before overcoming the Maldives 3-2 in the semi-finals.

India have accumulated 139 points, seven more since the last month's rankings, and are at the 31st spot among Asian countries.

Iran are the top-ranked Asian nation at the 43rd position. South Korea (51) are next, two places over Japan and eight above Australia.

Globally, Belgium maintained first place, followed by Argentina and Spain.

Germany are fourth, ahead of Chile and Brazil, respectively.

IANS