With the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar ended after a month of thrilling clashes between football powerhouses and many underdogs, people’s attention turned to the latest FIFA / Coca-Cola World Ranking of football nations, especially those which have made a name for themselves as well as those which disappointingly did not deliver in the tournament. Here are some highlights about the latest ranking that was published on 22nd December 2022.
Brazil Ranked Ahead of the Newly-Crowned World Champion
Argentina climbed the global ladder after winning the hard-fought world title in the first ever Middle-East State and winter World Cup, but this did not make them the best team in the world, as their South American rival, Brazil remained the best team in the world in terms of the ranking. It is worth noting that this giant leap from La Albiceleste put it within touching distance from the Seleção as only two ranking points are separating the two. The 2018 FIFA World Cup champion France now ranked 3rd in the world with their runner-up finish in this year’s tournament; A proud achievement considering how wounded the squad was coming into the tournament with a long list of injured players.
Underdogs Shone in the World Cup, Now the FIFA Ranking Too
The latest FIFA / Coca-Cola World Ranking saw many big climbers as a result of their heroic runs in the quadrennial tournament, most notably those which were dubbed the underdogs of the competition. Semifinalist Morocco, and the Socceroos moved up 11 places respectively, with their latest ranking now 11th and 27th on the chart. Despite falling short of earning African nations’ first ever World Cup medal, the noble Atlas Lions are enjoying their best world ranking since 1998 at the moment.
Besides, other standout performers namely Cameroon (Up 10), Croatia (Up 5) and Japan (Up 4) all made a breakthrough in the year-end ranking performance, finishing 2022 with a respective position of 33rd, 7th and 20th.
More Upsets for Roten Teufel De, Rød-Hvide and Die Mannschaft
If we had to talk about the worst performing teams in the tournament, European countries namely Belgium, Denmark and Germany must have been on the list of every football fan. With all three of them, who were all previously ranked within the Top 11 teams in the world before the latest ranking was announced, crashed out of the tournament during the group stage, it was no surprise that their ranking got knocked to the ground this time around. Belgium moved down 2 places to 4th while Denmark dropped to 18th place in the world. The four-time world champion Germany, on the other hand, is now the 14th best team in the world. Plenty of catching up to do if these teams were to return to the world’s best football nation in years to come.
The next FIFA / Coca-Cola World Ranking is set to release on 6th April 2023.
These are the winners and losers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar: https://www.watchworldcup.org/winners-and-losers-of-the-most-entertaining-fifa-world-cup-ever/
(Photo Credits: The Japan Times)
