According to the latest announcement from the World Football Federation (FIFA), the results at the 2022 World Cup have had a big impact on the positions on the rankings of the men's football teams.
By reaching the final, both Argentina and France have pushed the Belgian team back to maintain 2nd and 3rd place respectively in the FIFA rankings. Brazil - the team eliminated in the quarter-finals, is currently still holding the No. 1 position, however, they are only 2 points ahead of Argentina (1840.77 compared to 1838.38).
That means Argentina could take Brazil's lead in the next few games if they win, while their South American rivals won't.
FIFA changed the way it calculates rankings in 2018. Basically, if they meet a stronger opponent, the victory will bring them more points. And there will also be no longer a situation where a team can keep a position for a long time. If they are in poor form, they will be relegated faster and vice versa, if they play well, the promotion will be faster.
Thanks to the results at the 2022 World Cup, Morocco is the team with the strongest progress. Atlas Lions jumped 11 places to 11th in the world. Coach Walid Regragui did a great job at the tournament in Qatar.
Australia also increased 11 places to 27th. The occasionalos surprised everyone by reaching the round of 16 at the World Cup, where they caused Argentina to experience a really difficult match. Cameroon increased 10 places to 33rd place, largely thanks to a victory over Brazil in the group stage.
Japan also rose four places to 20th place, while the US and Switzerland each rose three places, with the US ranked 13th and Switzerland in 12th place.
On the other hand, Belgium have dropped from second to fourth and are likely to drop further after being eliminated in the group stage at the World Cup. Their golden generation is also almost at the end of its era.
Spain, Germany, Mexico and Uruguay all dropped, while Italy - the defending European champions, dropped 2 places, which was inevitable after Roberto Mancini's team could not participate in the World Cup.
Denmark dropped 8 places to 18th, reflecting their poor World Cup, while Iran dropped 4 places, Wales dropped 9 places, Serbia dropped 8 places to 30th, Canada dropped 12 places to 53th and Qatar dropped 10 places to 60th.
Denmark dropped out of the Top 10, giving way to Croatia, who rose five places to 7th.
The next announcement will be on April 6, 2023.
Some notable information
Leading team: Brazil (unchanged)
Team in Top 10: Croatia (ranked 7, up 5 places)
Team dropped from Top 10: Denmark (ranked 18, dropped 8 places)
Total number of matches: 159
The teams with the most matches: Argentina, Croatia, Morocco, Qatar (8)
The team with the largest increase in points: Morocco (108.85 points)
The largest promoted team in terms of position: Australia, Morocco (11 places)
Team with the most points drop: Denmark (lost 58.46 points)
The team with the most relegation in terms of position: Canada (12 places)
