Well, look who's back. Spain's national football team just reclaimed the top spot in the FIFA men’s rankings. They did it the hard way, by winning the World Cup. Argentina, who previously held the throne, now finds themselves looking up from second place.
Spain sealed their return to the top with a decisive 1-0 extra-time victory over Argentina in the World Cup final. This marks their first time back at number one since January. Meanwhile, France held steady at third, and England, despite clinching the bronze medal against France, remained at fourth. Because apparently, winning bronze means you just get to stay put.
Brazil nudged up to fifth, but the real story might be Morocco. They've just hit their highest ranking ever, climbing to a very respectable sixth place. Which, if you think about it, is both impressive and slightly terrifying for anyone who has to play them next.
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Start Your News DetoxElsewhere on the pitch, Portugal slid two spots to seventh after a round of 16 exit. Belgium and the Netherlands did a little dance, with Belgium moving up to eighth and the Dutch dropping to ninth. And welcome to the top 10, Mexico, who jumped four spots to make the cut.
The biggest leap belonged to Norway, who rocketed up 12 spots to 19th after reaching the World Cup quarter-finals. Germany, on the other hand, waved goodbye to the top 10, now sitting at 12th. And Italy, who famously didn't even qualify for the World Cup, slipped further to 15th. Ouch.
On the other end of the spectrum, Tunisia took the biggest tumble, falling 12 places to 57th. Egypt climbed five spots to 24th, and Paraguay rose seven places to 34th after making the round of 16. Cabo Verde, who made it to the round of 32, climbed three places to 64th, just ahead of Ghana, who moved up eight spots. Because in football, as in life, sometimes you just need to keep moving forward.
