Argentina has been spotted atop the recent FIFA football rankings in World.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup winners did not become the No. 1 team on the planet at the end of the tournament, but the side has now taken its place at the top, based on the latest rankings updated on Thursday.
News About Nigeria obtained that the FIFA rankings represent football’s best attempt to list the teams according to accomplishments throughout the sport’s calendar.
While the World Cup holds the most prestige, other competitions also weigh into the list’s construction and algorithm, looking to determine all the teams’ results in recent months and years, as the case may be.
FIFA rankings are important, as they are a factor in a number of competitive placements. Most notably, the FIFA rankings determine which spot a team is placed into at every World Cup draw.
Below is the list of the rankings as gathered by News About Nigeria.
1. Argentina
2. France
3. Brazil
4. Belgium
5. England
6. Netherlands
7. Croatia
8. Italy
9. Portugal
10. Spain
11. Morocco
12. Switzerland
13. USA
14. Germany
15. Mexico
16. Uruguay
17. Colombia
18. Senegal
19. Denmark
20. Japan AFC
Despite winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Argentina was not able to gain enough points to take over the top spot from their South American rivals Brazil.
The reason for this might not be far-fetched as it is alleged that penalty shootout victories are not worth nearly as many ranking points as regulation or extra-time victories.
When Argentina lifted the trophy in Qatar, two of their knockout stage wins came via penalty shootout, beating the Netherlands in the quarterfinals on penalties before topping France in a shootout in the finals.
