23 October,2014 05:46 PM IST | | AFP
World champions Germany comfortably top the pile of the FIFA national team rankings despite a recent 2-0 loss to Poland and 1-1 draw with Ireland in the Euro 2016 qualifiers
Paris: World champions Germany comfortably top the pile of the FIFA national team rankings revealed Thursday despite a recent 2-0 loss to Poland and 1-1 draw with Ireland in the Euro 2016 qualifiers.
Spain's domination of several years however is most certainly on the wane as the reigning European champions drop to tenth The top three remain unchanged from September with Lionel Messi's beaten World Cup finalists Argentina second and Colombia in third.
The 2014 World Cup hosts Brazil are sixth and Uruguay eighth, leaving four Latin Americans in the top-10. Belgium's up-and-coming Red Devils continue their ascent and climb a place to fourth with their northern neighbours the Netherlands, who lost 2-0 to Iceland last week, dropping a place to fifth.
Euro 2016 hosts France under the able guidance of coach Didier Deschamps can thank a series of friendly wins for their seventh spot. Cristiano Ronaldo's late goal at Denmark in the Euro qualifiers last week gave new coach Paulo Bento his first competitive win and keeps Portugal at ninth. The next list is published November 27.
FIFA standings for October 2014: 1. Germany, 2. Argentina, 3. Colombia, 4. Belgium (+1), 5. Netherlands (-1), 6. Brazil, 7. France (+2), 8. Uruguay (-1), 9. Portugal (+2), 10. Spain (-2)
