Total of 184 internationals played earlier this month. Argentina remain on top despite hiccup Bolivia, Samoa, Brunei Darussalam and San Marino make major strides
No fewer than 184 international matches - which involved teams from all six confederations – took place across the first week and a half of this month. FIFA World Cup 26™ qualifiers headlined the billing in the AFC, OFC and CONMEBOL regions, while encounters in continental competitions and friendlies were contested elsewhere.
All that action has had a significant knock-on effect on the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking. It is getting tighter at the summit.
After respectively being beaten 2-1 away to Colombia and 3-1 at home to Italy, Argentina (1st) and France (2nd) will be looking nervously in their proverbial rear-view mirrors. Spain (3rd) and England (4th) are looming large in pursuit, with Brazil (5th) and Belgium (6th) hot on their heels. Yet, despite the tremors, the top ten remains unchanged, continuing to be rounded off by the Netherlands (7th), Portugal (8th), Colombia (9th) and Italy (10th).
Further down, Bolivia (83rd, +6) have gained more points than any other team in the ranking (+35.20). Kenya (102nd, +6) and St Lucia (164th, +6) have also made substantial headway; however, the biggest climbers in terms of ranks are Brunei Darussalam (183rd) and Samoa (185th), who have both leapt up seven spots on the back of a pair of wins apiece.
While San Marino (210th) remain rooted to the bottom of the pile, their first victory in more than 20 years was nevertheless one of the stories of the month. La Serenissima's previous triumph had been a 1-0 success against Liechtenstein in April 2004 and, after a 140-game winless run, they repeated the feat this past 5 September against the same opposition and by the same scoreline.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking will be published on 24 October.
Leaders Argentina (unchanged)
Moves into top 10 None
Moves out of top 10 None
Matches played in total 184
Most matches played 178 teams (2 matches each)
Biggest move by points Bolivia (up 35.20 points)
Biggest move by ranks Brunei Darussalam, Samoa (up 7 ranks)
Biggest drop by points Australia (down 26.99 points)
Biggest drop by ranks Qatar (down 10 ranks)
Newly ranked teams None Teams that are no longer ranked None
Inactive teams, not ranked Eritrea