In FIFA's new world rankings, the Chinese men's national team has dropped one place from last month. They are now 49th in the world. It's the first time for China to fall in FIFA's world rankings this year.

It's the first time for China to fall in FIFA's world rankings this year, China Radio International reported Thursday.

At 19th, Japan is still the top Asian team in the rankings, which is mainly because of their success in the Asian Cup tournament.

Brazil continues to top the list, followed by France and Argentina.

FIFA's standings are based on a statistical analysis of countries' results over eight years, weighted according to how recently the matches were played, the strength of the opponents and the importance of each match.

(CRI October 8, 2004)