ZURICH,Sep 21: Argentina tightened its grip at the top spot of the FIFA World Ranking after its 1-0 triumph over Ecuador and a 3-0 success against Bolivia in the opening CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.
Second place France lost some ground on the Albiceleste after suffering a 2-1 friendly defeat against Germany.
Meanwhile, Brazil (3rd), England (4th) and Belgium (5th) retain their places in a top five that remains unchanged from the July 2023 edition of the global ranking. The leading pack are followed by Croatia (6th), the Netherlands (7th) and Portugal (8th), who are the only team amongst the top ten to climb a position.
Italy (9th) slipped down a spot after been held to a 1-1 draw away to North Macedonia in the sides’ UEFA EURO 2024 qualifier.
The top-ten line-up is completed by Spain. Second place France lost some ground on the Albiceleste after suffering a 2-1 friendly defeat against Germany.
Austria (25th) and Hungary (32nd) both make waves by climbing four berths.
India on the other hand, slipped to rank 102nd, while the women’s team was ranked 61st in the world. Among the Asian Football Confederation, India is in the 18th spot.
After succumbing to back-to-back away defeats – 4-2 to Slovenia and 1-0 against Kazakhstan – Northern Ireland (74th, down 10) are the biggest fallers in the latest instalment of the ranking.Thanks largely to their 2-0 win over Poland, Albania (62nd, up 3) record the biggest move by points (up 20.08).
As for progress in terms of places, the biggest climbers are Guinea Bissau (106th) and Aruba (193rd), both of whom jump up six places. (Agencies)
