Argentina Tops FIFA Rankings After 6 Years
Football fans are buzzing with excitement as the latest FIFA rankings have just been released. Argentina has taken the top spot for the first time in six years, thanks to their recent wins in friendly matches.
Argentina’s captain, Lionel Messi, was in fine form during these matches, reaching two impressive milestones. He scored his 800th career goal in a 2-0 win over Panama and then went on to score a hat-trick in a 7-0 victory over Curacao, bringing his total number of international goals to 100.
This achievement is a welcome return to form for Argentina, who had dropped to 12th in the rankings after a disappointing World Cup campaign in Russia in 2018.
Brazil had held the top spot for the past year, but they slipped to third place after a disappointing 2-1 loss to Morocco. Meanwhile, France climbed to second place after winning two back-to-back qualifiers against the Netherlands and Ireland.
The Top 10 Rankers
Belgium and England held onto their fourth and fifth positions, respectively, with England securing two wins, including a victory over Italy. The rest of the top 10 was dominated by European teams, with Croatia, Italy, Portugal, and Spain all making an appearance.
Morocco, who recently announced a joint bid with Spain and Portugal to host the 2030 World Cup, held onto their spot at No. 11 and is currently the top-ranked African team. The United States remained at No. 13, with Mexico just two spots behind.
Serbia, Algeria, Egypt, and Scotland were among the notable movers outside the top 20.
The Other Shifting Rankers
Canada, who will be co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with the United States and Mexico, climbed up six spots to No. 47. Meanwhile, Japan held onto their position as the highest-ranked Asian team at No. 20, and Qatar, who will be hosting the 2022 World Cup, fell to No. 61.
Central African Republic was the most improved team in this edition, rising 10 places to 122nd. They achieved this by beating Madagascar twice, who have ranked 30 places above them at the time. Other notable movers were Namibia, Malaysia, and The Gambia.
Argentina’s Other Recent Achievements
In addition to topping the FIFA rankings, Argentina has recently dominated the FIFA Awards in February 2023. At the ceremony, Lionel Messi was announced as the FIFA Player of the Year for the seventh time in his career.
This news came as Argentina swept all major men’s awards after winning the World Cup final in December. Messi beat out Kylian Mbappé and Karim Benzema to secure the top prize.
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 were voted on by a global panel of national team captains and coaches, selected journalists in each of FIFA’s 211 member countries, plus fans online.
With the rankings, there was a lot of movement in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, with several teams improving their positions. This ranking reflects the current form of national teams and their recent performances.
Now, fans are eagerly waiting for the next FIFA Men’s World Ranking to be published on July 20, hoping to see their favorite teams climb the ranks.
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