Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Final - Argentina v France - Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar - December 18, 2022 Argentina's Lionel Messi lifts the World Cup trophy alongside teammates as they celebrate winning the World Cup REUTERS/Carl Recine TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
(Reuters) - World champions Argentina strengthened their grip at the top of the FIFA world rankings in the latest list on Thursday, with the top five remaining unchanged after the international break.
Argentina, who dethroned Brazil at the summit in April, remained top after beating Ecuador and Bolivia in their 2026 World Cup qualifiers earlier this month.
Second-placed France, who lost to Germany in a friendly last week, retained second place followed by Brazil (third), England (fourth) and Belgium (fifth).
Portugal were the only team in the top 10 to climb a spot, moving up to eighth, while Italy dropped one place to ninth after a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia in a Euro 2024 qualifier.
Croatia (sixth), Netherlands (seventh) and Spain (10th) complete the top 10, while Morocco (13th), Colombia (16th), Denmark (18th) and Japan (19th) all moved up a place.
The top 20-ranked nations:
1 - Argentina
2 - France
3 - Brazil
4 - England
5 - Belgium
6 - Croatia
7 - Netherlands
8 - Portugal
9 - Italy
10 - Spain
11 - United States
12 - Mexico
13 - Morocco
14 - Switzerland
15 - Germany
16 - Colombia
17 - Uruguay
18 - Denmark
19 - Japan
20 - Senegal
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Hyderabad; Editing by Ken Ferris)
