The Philippine Azkals achieved their highest world ranking ever after leapfrogging to No. 124 following their impressive victories in last month’s World Cup qualifiers.

In the latest rankings released yesterday by FIFA, the Azkals moved 13 places from No. 137 to emerge as the 17th-best nation in Asia while retaining its status as the top team in Southeast Asia.

The rise was attributed to the Azkals’ fiery start in the qualifiers when they beat Bahrain, 2-1, at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan followed by a 2-0 defeat of Yemen in Doha, Qatar to gain second place in Group H behind North Korea.

Javier Patino, Iain Ramsay, Misagh Bahadoran and Phil Younghusband have produced stellar performances for the Azkals despite missing the midfielder Stephan Schrock in the previous match due to an injury.

They are scheduled to play a home match against Uzbekistan when the qualifiers resume in September.