Lionel Messi's Argentina move higher in latest FIFA world rankings as France drop down: Reports
The Lionel Messi-led Argentina side have reportedly moved into third place in the FIFA rankings at the expense of current world champions France, as per Spanish journalist MisterChip.
The official men's football rankings were last released on 31 March with Brazil ranked No.1 in the world with 1832.69 points. Belgium and France occupied the other the second and third spots on the podium with 1827 and 1789.85 points, respectively. Argentina were placed fourth with 1765.13 points to their name.
La Albiceleste enjoyed a solid outing in the June international break. They scored eight goals and kept back-to-back clean sheets in the two games played this month.
Este es el NUEVO Ranking FIFA que se publicará la semana que viene, después de incluir los 300 partidos entre selecciones FIFA disputados desde el 7 de abril hasta el 14 de junio. Argentina se acerca a la cima, mientras que Francia, Inglaterra e Italia empiezan a caer. https://t.co/NaYDXNOnSD
MisterChip reports that thanks to Lionel Messi and Co.'s impressive wins, they have earned enough points to finish third in the rankings that will be published this month by FIFA.
France played four games in the UEFA Nations League during the June international break, failing to secure a win. Because of this, Les Blues will cede the third spot to Argentina. France are expected to sit in fourth place with 1765 points while Lionel Messi's Argentina are reported to have 1784 points.
Lionel Messi was in rich form with Argentina during the international break
Lionel Scaloni's men played just two games in the international break. The first one was the much-anticipated La Finalissima against EURO 2020 winners Italy. Lionel Messi picked up two assists as the Copa America 2021 winners beat Italy 3-0.
The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star upped the ante in the friendly game against Estonia three days later and scored all five goals in the 5-0 win.
Current Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni, as a substitute, applauding Lionel Messi in 2006 at the World Cup as Messi was being substituted on for his first World Cup match. 🇦🇷 https://t.co/IAvsueGxIn
Fifa-ranking.com is a website that tracks the standings daily based on all the games taking place during the international break, competitive or otherwise. Their data also suggests that the South American giants will move to third place in the latest FIFA rankings, though they suggest their points tally will be 1770.65.
The site have placed France fourth with the tally of suggested points of 1764.85, a figure very close to that reported by MisterChip.
FIFA released the updated rankings for women's football on Friday, with current world champions the USA on the top with 2104.25 points to their name. So, we can expect the official rankings for men's football to drop soon as well.
The FIFA Ranking was first published in December 1992 and the ranking methodology has gone under multiple changes since its inception. In the last 30 years, only eight teams have reached the top: Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
During this period, Brazil has enjoyed the longest cumulative time as the No.1 ranked team.