Spain retain the top spot in the FIFA rankings released
Tuesday morning with Nigeria moving up tow places from 6oth to 58th in
the world.
Both the UEFA EURO 2012 and OFC Nations Cup have clearly
left their mark on the current edition of the FIFA World Ranking.
Spain have managed to extend their lead significantly by
defending their European title, while finalists Italy (6th, up 6) have also
been richly rewarded for their performances in Poland and Ukraine with a return
to the top ten. Defeated semi-finalists Portugal (5th, up 5) and Germany (2nd,
up 1) have equally seen improvements in their positions, as have England (4th,
up 2), Greece (12th, up 3), Czech Republic (18th, up 9) and hosts Poland (54th,
up 8) and Ukraine (46th, up 6).
The Netherlands ,
on the other hand, have slipped down (8th, down 4), while Brazil
(11th, down 6), currently sit in their lowest position since the start of the
FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.
Thanks to their surprising victory at the OFC Nations Cup,
Eddy Etaeta’s Tahiti have made great progress, climbing 41 spots to currently
occupy 138th and securing their spot in next year’s FIFA Confederations Cup in
Brazil.
A total of 133 international 'A' matches have been played in
recent weeks, made up of 31 EURO 2012 matches, 60 qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA
World Cup Brazil™, 15 CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, and 27 friendlies.
All of these contests have clearly reshuffled the global
ladder, with only 22 of the 208 ranked teams holding their position from the
previous month, while 85 teams have moved up the table and 101 have dropped at
least one place.
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