FIFA World Rankings: Top 10 football nations
FIFA, the world's governing body for football, is responsible for calculating the official standings of the national teams based on competitive results.
The likes of France and Germany, in recent times, have dominated these rankings and occupied the highest position based on their extraordinary results in major tournaments. Les Bleus have a UEFA Euro final appearance and a World Cup medal to show for in the last four years, while Die Mannschaft were one of the most consistent sides in international football over the last two decades.
However, a change in the ranking system after the FIFA World Cup 2018 finals saw a shake-up of the standings, with former world champions Germany dropping to 15th place at the time (currently 14th), below the likes of Croatia, England, and other nations that have done well in recent years.
Here, we take a look at the top ten nations in the current FIFA world rankings.
Note: India is currently ranked #108 as per the FIFA rankings.
#10 Colombia | Squad value: £268.27m | Points: 1631
CONMEBOL side Colombia kick off the rankings in tenth place and are the least-valuable side on the list. Fondly referred to as Los Cafeteros, the Radamel Falcao-led team have done relatively well in the last few editions of the Copa America, registering a third-place finish and three quarter-final finishes in the last four tournaments.
Carlos Queiroz's men also put up their best-ever performance at a World Cup as recently as 2014, when a side inspired by the heroics of former Real Madrid superstar James Rodriguez went up until the quarter-finals. The fact that Colombia managed this feat without their star man and skipper Falcao made it all the more impressive, and Rodriguez ended the tournament as the Golden Boot winner.
The current Colombia squad is blessed with a wide-ranging group of talented players apart from Rodriguez and Falcao, including the likes of Duvan Zapata, Luis Muriel, Alfredo Morelos, and presently their most valuable player, Davinson Sanchez of Tottenham Hotspur.
#9 Croatia | Squad value: £318.24m | Points: 1634
Croatia's run the 2018 World Cup in Russia is one that will be remembered for decades to come. The Vatreni, under the guidance of Zlatko Dalic, took on some of the most impressive footballing nations and made it all the way until the final of the tournament, but ultimately lost to Didier Deschamps' France.
Star man Luka Modric was the driving force of this inspiring underdog side, and the Croat metronome went on to win honours aplenty as a result of his displays, including the World Cup Golden Ball as well as the all-important Ballon d'Or. Their UEFA Nations League campaign has not gone the way they would have wanted it to, but Croatia will hope to replicate their 2018 heroics in the upcoming UEFA Euros in 2021.
They possess an impressive roster of players such as Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic, and Andrej Kramaric to go with their experienced veterans and World Cup heroes such as Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic.
#8 Argentina | Squad value: £495.90m | Points: 1636
South American giants Argentina are one of the most intriguing sides in international football. On paper, they have often appeared to be a devastating unit in the past, which could in theory destroy opposition defences with ease given the firepower available to them. However, the two-time world champions have failed to win a single international trophy since the turn of the century.
La Albiceleste have finished as the runners up in four out of the last six editions of the Copa America and also have a third-place finish to show for in their most recent appearance. Lionel Messi and co came painfully close to replicating their success of 1978 and 1986 in 2014 as they faced Germany in the final of the World Cup, but were undone by a Mario Gotze wondergoal which was ultimately the deciding goal.
Despite their squad not having anywhere near the amount of stardust that previous groups have possessed, they still boast of a few impressive names to call upon. Apart from their mercurial skipper, Lionel Scaloni has the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Luis Ocampos, Papu Gomez, and other stars among his ranks.
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