Morocco players are pictured on a bus as their fans celebrate with flares during a parade as the team return from Qatar. REUTERS
Brazil held onto the top spot in the FIFA Rankings despite failing to make past the quarter-finals at Qatar 2022, while champions Argentina climbed one place to second.
Captain Lionel Messi scored two goals and one again in the shootout as Argentina sealed a 4-2 win on penalties over France on Qatar National Day – December 18 to annex their third World Cup title.
The victorious run in Qatar helped La Albiceleste to raise their points to 1838.38, behind Brazil who lead with 1840.77. France are currently at the
third spot.
A win in normal or extra time in the final would have helped Argentina climb to the top of the rankings.
Former ranking leaders Belgium are placed fourth, followed by England (5), Netherlands (6) and Croatia (7). Italy (8), Portugal (9) and Spain (10) complete the top 10.
However, the real winners according to the latest rankings are Morocco, who moved 11 spots up, to the 11th spot, following their record-breaking run
in Qatar.
The Atlas Lions are also the highest climbers of the year according to the FIFA computer, having earned 142 points over the previous 12 months.
Morocco, who became the first African and Arab semi-finalists in history, lost their third place play-off 2-1 against 2018 runners-up Croatia but their impressive run was one of the highlights at the first FIFA World Cup to be staged in the Arab region.
Morocco finished on top of their group which also included heavyweights Croatia and Belgium, before knocking out former champions Spain and Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal to reach the last four.
Morocco’s unbeaten run eventually came to an end when they lost to the defending champions France in the semi-finals.
The brilliant show impressed their coach Walid Regragui, who said he is confident that an African team can even win the World Cup in 15-20 years.
“In 15, 20 years, I’m sure an African team will win the World Cup because we’ll have learned. We have a stage to get past. We need to build on that, with hard work and desire. This DNA is not just being built for Morocco, but for the continent,” Regragui said after finishing fourth in Qatar.
Meanwhile, Qatar dropped 10 spots to 60th after failing to impress at the home tournament.
Japan are the top ranked team in Asia (20), while Iran came second (24) ahead of South Korea (25). Australia also made a huge leap, by climbing up 11 spots, to 27th place.
Latest FIFA Rankings
1 Brazil 1840.77
2 Argentina 1838.38
3 France 1823.39
4 Belgium 1781.3
5 England 1774.19
6 Netherlands 1740.92
7 Croatia 1727.62
8 Italy 1723.56
9 Portugal 1702.54
10 Spain 1692.71
11 Morocco 1672.35
12 Switzerland 1655.02
13 USA 1652.74
14 Germany 1646.91
15 Mexico 1635.78
Asia
20 Japan 1593.08
24 Iran 1551.73
25 South Korea 1539.49
27 Australia 1533.97
49 Saudi Arabia 1438.13
60 Qatar 1393.56
68 Iraq 1342.39
Leader: Brazil (unchanged)
Moves into top 10: Croatia (7th, plus 5)
Moves out of top 10: Denmark (18th, minus 8)
Matches played in total: 159
Most matches played: Argentina, Croatia, Morocco, Qatar (8)
Biggest move by points: Morocco (plus 108.85)
Biggest move by places: Australia, Morocco (plus 11)
Biggest drop by points: Denmark (minus 58.46)
Biggest drop by places: Canada (minus 12)
