Japan moved up four places to 20th, the highest among Asian teams, in FIFA's latest men's soccer rankings released Thursday.
The Samurai Blue advanced to the round of 16 after defeating Germany and Spain in their group stage at the recently concluded World Cup in Qatar.
Brazil stayed at the top of the rankings. Both World Cup champions Argentina and runners-up France moved up a place to second and third, respectively.
Semifinalists Croatia and Morocco both made sizeable moves upward. Croatia rose to seventh from 12th, while Morocco, the first African team to reach the semis, climbed from 22nd to 11th.
The rankings will next be updated April 6.
