UAE drop four places in September Fifa world rankings

The UAE's two defeats in round three of Asian qualification for the 2014 World Cup has seen them fall four places in the latest FIfa rankings. A 3-2 defeat to Kuwait in Al Ain, followed by a 3-1 reversal in Lebanon moves UAE to 112th in the monthly rankings.

Only their 3-0 friendly win over Qatar prior to their World Cup qualifiers prevented a further slide down the table, which would also cost the Slovenian coach Srecko Katanec his job.

It was not a particularly great month for any of the Gulf nations;  each Arabian Gulf country, barring Iraq, who did not change position, have seen a drop in the ranks due to a number of variable factors such as qualification tournaments elsewhere in the world.

Qatar, 97th in the world, is now the leading Gulf nation thanks largely to Saudi Arabia (98) dropping 11 places over the past month.

Kuwait round out the top 100, dropping five places despite a successful month which saw them defeat the UAE and hold South Korea to a 1-1 draw.

Bahrain (104), Oman (106) each drop three places, while Iraq stay 109th in the world. Yemen drop four places to 137th.

The dramatic drop by Gulf and Asian nations is coupled with more qualifying matches played in the African and the Concacaf federations.

For example, Niger and Togo from Africa and Haiti and Guatemala from Concacaf all climb above the UAE following their successful campaigns last month.