(Photo: VNA)

The world football governing body listed 12 squads which made big bangs throughout the year on its home page.

In 2019, Vietnam made the Asian Football Federation Cup quarter-finals for the first time in history and are the only team from Southeast Asia to have won three 2022 World Cup qualifier matches. 

Other teams that surprised the world were the U20 team of the Republic of Korea who made it to the final of the U20 World Cup while their midfielder Lee Kangin won the tournament's Golden Ball.

The Italian women's squad were also listed after they won their FIFA Women's World Cup group ahead of Brazil and Australia. They also eliminated China in the last-16 round.

Algeria won the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their 29-year title drought, and were also the biggest mover in the July world rankings as they moved up 28 places to reach 40th in the world and fourth in the continent.

The other teams were the Netherlands' women, Qatar, Kosovo, Ukraine and U20 Ukraine, Haiti and Iraq and Syria.