Doha: Qatar have maintained their 53rd position overall in FIFA's World Rankings for August, released Thursday. The reigning two-time Asian champions earned 1,453.65 points that put them fifth among Arab and Asian teams.

According to Qatar News Agency, in August, Julen Lopetegui's men played two international friendlies, drawing 2-2 with Bahrain and losing 1-4 to Russia, as part of their preparations for the upcoming AFC playoff stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. They will face Oman on October 8 and UAE on October 14 in Doha.

In the third round of AFC qualifiers, Qatar finished fourth in Group A with 13 points from 10 matches. Iran topped the group with 23 points, followed by Uzbekistan (21), UAE (15), Kyrgyzstan (8), and North Korea (3).

Meanwhile, Spain reclaimed the top spot for the first time since 2014, overtaking Argentina, who fell to third. France moved up to second, while Germany fell out of the top 10 to 12th, following a 0-2 loss to Slovakia in World Cup qualifying.