World champions Argentina strengthened their grip at the top of the FIFA world rankings in the latest list on Thursday. The top five remained unchanged after the international break as Lionel Messi’s side continued their quest to become the first team ever to retain the World Cup title.
Six years after last topping the standings, the South American outfit moved up one spot following wins over Panama (2-0) and Curacao (7-0). They dethroned Brazil (3rd, minus 2), who paid the price for their surprise defeat in a friendly against Morocco.
The Selecao are replaced by France in second place, with the European champions climbing up on the back of a 4-0 win over the Netherlands and a 1-0 victory over Ireland in their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers. England remain fourth, with Belgium in fifth and Germany in sixth. The Netherlands dropped to seventh, with Portugal up one to eighth and Italy falling one to ninth after their 1-1 draw with North Macedonia in their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier.
FIFA’s ranking system is based on a points system which gives weight to the results of full international matches played by the teams’ member nations. The ranking was introduced in 1992 and has since been revamped on several occasions, with a new calculation method coming into effect in August 2018 after criticism that the previous formula failed to reflect the strength of national teams properly.
The Central African Republic was the biggest mover in the top 10, jumping ten places to 122nd. The country hopes to benefit from a new regional integration project to form a South American Community of Nations (SACN). The project, which Brazilian President Michel Temer launched, has already been endorsed by the Organization of American States and the Union for the Caribbean. It aims to remove trade barriers between South America’s largest economies and promote the use of a common currency, given that many countries in the region cannot access United States dollars. The first SACN summit is scheduled for March or April in Brazil, with work on a constitution also expected to begin. The move could eventually lead to the creating of a single monetary area for the entire continent, similar to the European Union.
