World Cup winner Argentina moves top of FIFA rankings

New Delhi: Reigning world champion Argentina dethroned Brazil to reclaim the top spot in the latest FIFA rankings released on Thursday, after a six-year gap.

Recent friendly wins against Panama (2-0) and Curacao (7-0) helped the world Argentina (1840.93 points) leapfrog Brazil (1834.21), who paid a high price for defeat in their friendly against Morocco (2-1) and dropped to third place.

Not only did Brazil surrender the top spot, but they also saw France move ahead of them to second place after their back-to-back wins in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying against the Netherlands (4-0) and Republic of Ireland (1-0).

Outside the leading trio, there were no other movers among the Top 10. Belgium (1792.53 points) is in fourth place, with England (1792.43 points) in fifth, followed by the Netherlands (sixth), Croatia (seventh) and Italy (eighth), Portugal (ninth) and Spain completed the top 10.

The swapping of places by Senegal on 18th and Denmark on 19th were the only other notable changes in the Top 20. The most improved side in this edition are the Central African Republic, taking a giant leap of 10 spots to be placed 122 10 places in the global standings.