December 10 – Belgium have topped the world ranking for a third consecutive year to become the FIFA team of the year, the world governing body said on Thursday.
Roberto Martinez’s wrapped up 2020 by progressing to the final four of the Nations League for the first time after dominating a group that included England, Denmark and Iceland. The Belgians will head into next summer’s European championship as one of the tournament favourites.
The top four of the FIFA ranking remained unchanged with France sitting in second spot, and Brazil and England retaining third and fourth place. European champions Portugal moved into fifth place.
Hungary were the biggest movers in the ranking, entering the top 50 after qualifying in dramatic style for Euro 2020 against Iceland. The team of coach Pablo Rossi lost just a single game this year, against Russia.
The world federation noted that only 352 international matches were played this year, the lowest number since 1987. In March, the global game went into an unprecedented shutdown for a number of months because of the coronavirus pandemic, affecting both the match calendar of both the club and international game.
UEFA, with FIFA’s approval, reacted by introducing extended international windows that accommodated three matches instead of two. That dispensation will also apply to the international windows in March and September 2021. The year is set to be the busiest ever for the international game with the Copa America, Euro 2020, the Concacaf Gold Cup as well as the Olympic football tournament and the Nations League final four all crammed into the calendar. It will also see the start of Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
In October 2021, the Belgians will compete with France, Italy and Spain in the Nations League final four. A maiden win in the tournament could go a long way for Belgium to retain top spot on the FIFA rankings for another year.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1714041491labto1714041491ofdlr1714041491owedi1714041491sni@o1714041491fni1714041491