By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The World Cup 2022 winners, Argentina, have failed to dislodge Brazil from the top of the Fifa men’s world rankings.
Argentina have moved into second spot after Lionel Messi led them to their third World Cup triumph on Sunday, adding to their 2021 Copa América title.
France climb one place to third, with Belgium dropping two rungs to fourth following their failure to get out of the group stage. England stay fifth after their quarter-final exit, with the Netherlands, Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Spain completing the top 10.
Morocco have moved up to 11th place from 22nd after their run to the World Cup semi-finals, replacing Senegal as the highest-ranked African nations.
Australia (27th, plus 11) and Cameroon (33rd, plus 10) have World Cup performances to thank for their climbs of 11 and 10 places respectively, while Saudi Arabia (49th, plus 2), who beat Argentina in the group phase in Qatar move into the top 50, as do Burkina Faso (50th, plus 4).
In total, seven teams have risen by more than ten places in the Ranking since December 2021: Gambia (126th, plus 24), Morocco (11th, plus 17), Costa Rica (32nd, plus 17), Cameroon (33rd, plus 17), Equatorial Guinea (98th, plus 16), Indonesia (151st, plus 13) and Cuba (168th, plus 11).
The next Fifa/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 6 April 2023.