Zurich, Switzerland – The latest edition of the FIFA/Coca- Cola Men's World Rankings saw plenty of change as 77 World Cup qualifiers were played since the last time the rankings were released.
To the surprise of no one, Spain remains on top followed by Germany, but Argentina (3rd, up 1) jumped ahead of Portugal (4th, down 1) after securing wins over Uruguay and Chile in the past month.
Italy (5th, up 3) also had a good month, moving up three places after wins over Armenia and Denmark, while Russia (9th, up 3) and Croatia (10th, up 1) moved into the top 10 at the expense of Uruguay and Greece.
Algeria (19th, up 5) reached its highest-ever position in the rankings this month while Belgium (20th, up 10) continues to rise with a strong group of young players.
Hungary (30th, up 19) beat Estonia and Turkey to make a big jump, while Korea Republic (32nd, down 7) and the Republic of Ireland (36th, down 8) made considerable slips.
Both Mexico (14th, up 5) and the United States (27th, up 5) moved up as both teams secured places in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying.
The next edition of the rankings will be released on Wednesday, Dec. 19.
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