Spain new No. 1 in FIFA rankings; Norway are biggest climber

GENEVA: Spain overtook Argentina for the No. 1 ‌spot in the FIFA men’s world rankings Monday, as expected after La Roja defeated the defending champions 1-0 in the World Cup final on Sunday.
Argentina were the No. 1 team in the world rankings as of the last official rankings update on June 11, the day the 48-team World Cup began in Mexico.

Spain entered the tournament No. 2.
France and England remained third and fourth, respectively, despite England’s 6-4 triumph over the French in the World Cup third-place match. France still had enough of a cushion ‌in the ‌total points column to absorb that head-to-head defeat.
Brazil ‌and ⁠Morocco moved past ⁠Portugal for the fifth and sixth spots.

Portugal lost 1-0 to regional rival Spain in the round of 16.
Mexico climbed four spots in the 10th position after their strong showing at the World Cup. They went 3-0-0 in the group stage and blanked Ecuador 2-0 in the round of 32 before England ⁠pulled out a 3-2 win in the next ‌round in Mexico City.
The United States ‌also inched up one spot to No. 16 after winning their ‌group and shutting out Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round ‌of 32.

The Americans’ tournament ended in a disappointing 4-1 defeat at the hands of Belgium, who are now ranked eighth in the world.
But the biggest climbers were none other than Erling Haaland and Norway, ‌who moved up 12 spots to No. 19.
The Vikings became one of the darlings of the ⁠tournament after ⁠getting through to the knockouts and upsetting Brazil in the round of 16. Their tournament also ended at the hands of England, 2-1 in the quarterfinals, but it was Norway’s furthest World Cup run in their history.
The nation with the largest drop since June, Tunisia, also moved 12 spots.