Zurich
Belgium were crowned FIFA’s Team of the Year for the second straight time after retaining top spot ahead of world champions France in the latest world rankings released on Thursday, football’s world governing body said.
Belgium, who finished third in the World Cup in Russia last year, won all 10 of their competitive matches in 2019 and have held on to a top spot in a December table barely impacted by just 19 friendlies towards the end of the year.
England moved up a spot to fourth place below Brazil, while Uruguay are fifth. Argentina (ninth) and Colombia (10th) entered the top 10 this year displacing Switzerland (12th) and Denmark (16th).
It was a year in which 1,082 international “A” matches have been played, and that is an all-time high since the ranking’s inception in 1993. Qatar, who will host the 2022 World Cup, were the biggest movers in a year in which they won the AFC Asian Cup, moving 38 places to sit 55th after gaining 138 points.
They have maintained the same place through a year that included playing as an invited team at the Copa America and in qualifying games for the 2023 Asian Cup.
Qatar, who never qualified for any previous World Cup, are ranked higher than the previous hosts Russia were, at No 70, when that tournament kicked off in June 2018. —Agencies
