August 11 – Brazil have returned to the top of the FIFA rankings, moving ahead of Confederations Cup winners Germany.
The Brazilians haven’t played a game since June, but regain top spot after a one-month hiatus. Germany slipped back to second spot, notwithstanding their convincing win at the Confederations Cup in Russia.
Joachim Low’s second string squad triumphed against Chile in the final to win the tournament for a first time and hype the German team ahead of next year’s World Cup. Brazil have already qualified for the finals in Russia.
Argentina retained third place on the ranking, while Switzerland rose to fourth, their highest position ever. Poland also attained an all-time best with fifth position.
European champions Portugal, Chile, Colombia, Belgium and France make up the rest of the top ten. England have not moved and remain in 13th place.
The United States climbed nine place to 26th after winning the Gold Cup last month. They were the biggest risers in the top 30.
The FIFA ranking was introduced in the early 90’s and under the existing system the rankings with a points system are based on a team’s performance over the last four years.
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