South Korea ranked 30th in FIFA's world football rankings for January, a two-notch gain from the month before, the world's football governing body said Wednesday.

The country ranked 29th in September, but lost ground in the following months to end 2011 in 32nd place. This placed it third among Asian-Pacific countries including its traditional rival Japan.

Japan ranked 19th followed by Australia in 21st place.

World Cup champion Spain remained the leader on the FIFA list, with the Netherlands and Germany making up the top three football powerhouses.