China has jumped five places to sit in 56th in the latest FIFA ranking released Wednesday.

The soar in the rankings benefited from their unbeaten record in two friendly matches against Costa Rica last month.

Meanwhile, Japan gained five spots to go to 13th while Iran are 15th after climbing two spots.

West Asian countries Saudi Arabia and Bahrain also moved up the ladder.

Germany is the biggest winners in this month's ranking, which takes into account 61 international matches from recent weeks.

Brazil continues to top the chart, followed by Argentina.

(CRI July 21, 2005)