The most recent FIFA rankings have been announced, and there have been some significant changes as teams. Argentina, the World Cup champions, moved up to second place in the FIFA rankings, following South American rivals Brazil, who are still in first place despite a disappointing World Cup.People across the world will be puzzled by the World Cup champions’ absence from the top spot in the updated FIFA rankings.
Why is Argentina not at the top in FIFA ranking?
Lionel Messi and Argentina received points depending on the calibre of their most recent opponents because of the way FIFA determines its rankings.
Brazil has 1840.77 total points, which is slightly over two more than Argentina, who has 1838.38 total points. If in next game Argentina wins and Brazil loses, Argentina will surpass Brazil.
Here are all the specifics of how FIFA rankings calculated before and after the change in 2018. In essence, you score more points if you play against tougher opponents. Furthermore, there is no longer a timeline associated with these rankings. You climb more quickly when you are good and fall more quickly when you are bad.
Who are the top winners?
The Atlas Lions, who now rank 11th in the world, have greatly benefited Morocco. They were the talk of the 2022 World Cup because to Walid Regragui’s amazing work.
The United States and Switzerland both gained three positions, with the Americans now ranked 13th and Switzerland in 12th, respectively, while Japan jumped four places to 20th.
The Socceroos astonished everyone by making it to the World Cup’s round of 16, where they played difficult competition against eventual champions Argentina. Australia moved 11 positions to land in 27th place. Due in major part to their illustrious victory over Brazil in the group stage, Cameroon rose ten spots to take up the 33rd spot.
Whose standings dropped?
Fifa rankings of Belgium dropped from second to fourth, and following their shocking World Cup group stage defeat, they are expected to drop much worse.
Italy, the defending European champions, dropped two positions, as was expected after Roberto Mancini’s team was unable to qualify for the World Cup. Spain, Germany, Mexico, and Uruguay also saw declines.
As a result of their disastrous World Cup, Denmark dropped eight ranks to finish in 18th, while Iran dropped four spaces, Wales sank nine spots, Serbia dropped eight spots to finish in 30th, Canada dropped 12 spots to finish in 53rd, and Qatar dropped ten spots to finish in 60th. The greatest World Cup team to fall was Canada under John Herdman.
What does the USA’s rating mean?
The USMNT’s status of 13th is their second-best rating under Gregg Berhalter; their highest was 10th in 2021. The USMNT has dropped as far as 36th in these rankings, although they have spent much of the last year in the top 20.
The USA could move up into the top 10 with the Gold Cup in 2023 and the potential to compete in the Copa America in 2024 (according to reports). This is because they will be competing in two significant international tournaments, and victories in these competitions count for more points than victories in friendly matches.
Below is the FIFA rankings for the top 20, which shows the movement up and down for teams.
Top 20 FIFA rankings, as of December 22, 2022
1. Brazil – Even
2. Argentina – Up 1
3. France – Up 1
4. Belgium – Down 2
5. England – Even
6. Netherlands – Up 2
7. Croatia – Up 1
8. Italy – Down 2
9. Portugal – Even
10. Spain – Down 3
11. Morocco – Up 11
12. Switzerland – Up 3
13. USA – Up 3
14. Germany – Down 3
15. Mexico – Down 2
16. Uruguay – Down 2
17. Colombia – Even
18. Denmark – Down 8
19. Senegal – Down 1
20. Japan – Up 4
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