The new FIFA ranking has been announced and there are new features

This year has been eventful in the football world as we witnessed a lot of football competitions from the European Championship, to Copa America and the Gold Cup. It's quite understandable that there will be a shift in the rankings of teams as some will be rewarded while some will be punished. Let's look at some of the developments from the new FIFA ranking. México remained in top 10 while their rivals USA miss out.. 

Teams in the Top 10.

The teams that made up the top 10 of the FIFA ranking include Belgium, Brazil, England, France,Italy, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, Denmark in that particular order. Denmark replaced the USMNT.

The positives in the top 10

England moved a point above last time ranking from 4th to rank 3rd. This is also their best ever ranking which was last achieved also in 2012. Winning the European championship and the Copa America is enough to place Italy and Argentina 5th and 6th respectively. Despite not winning a major tournament Belgium remains top of the chart since 2018. Portugal moved up the ladder courtesy of their performance in September winning all their matches, therefore climbing Spain. And Denmark was rewarded for their performance at the Euro 2020 by joining the top 10. Mexico, despite losing the Gold Cup final, has improved in the rankings since then after two wins and a draw in their World Cup qualifiers.

The negatives in the top 10

France was punished for getting kicked out of the European Championship in the round of sixteen by Switzerland. They moved to the 4th position giving chances to England and Brazil. Things seem to be getting worse for Spain as they move a point below the last ranking, ranking 8th. This may be as a result of their loss to Sweden in the World Cup qualifiers. 

Notable absentees in the top 10 

Brazil, Argentina and Mexico are the only non-European countries in the top 10 rankings, and they are part of the countries that have a successful footballing year. Brazil reached the Copa America final, Argentina joined the Copa America, Mexico reached the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup finals, and were joined by other successful countries Italy, England and Denmark. Some familiar names were missing from the list, countries like Germany, Netherlands and Uruguay. The USA were kicked out of the top 10 consequences of their recent performance.