Venezuela and Armenia on the up - FIFA/COCA-COLA WORLD RANKING
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| AFP |
The March edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking was marked by few changes in the top 50, with most teams yet to play in 2016. Only 14 'A' matches were taken into account for March, all of which were international friendlies. The total number of games played in 2016 currently stands at 58.
At the table’s summit Belgium continue to dominate, while Argentina, Spain, Germany and Chile stay closely pressed to the leaders. Four-time world champions Italy (14, plus 1) meanwhile, recorded the only positive movement in the top 20 this month. Further down the table, Poland gained the most ground of the top 50 teams, climbing three places (31, plus 3) while Serbia (50, plus 1) re-entered the top 50 at Norway’s expense (51, minus 1).
While no team reached its best ever position in the March ranking, a few teams successfully held onto their best ever positions, namely: Belgium (1), Chile (5), Austria (10), Hungary (19) and Kyrgyzstan (105).
The most impressive movers for March were Venezuela and Armenia. The South Americans climbed 6 places and gained 57 points to rise to 75th position, thanks to an impressive 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in Barinas on 2 February. Armenia, meanwhile, enjoyed the biggest climb of the month (116, up 7). Closely chasing Armenia and Venezuela’s success were Israel (67, plus 6), Kazakhstan (125, plus 6) and Guyana (156, plus 6).
There were no shifts in the regional composition of the Top 50 for March and the distribution of the top 50 remains: UEFA (31), CONMEBOL (8), CAF (6), CONCACAF (4), AFC (1) and OFC (0).
Belgium, Argentina, Mexico, Iran and New Zealand held their positions at the top of their respective confederations, with the only change in leadership at the confederation level this month taking place in CAF. Cape Verde Islands snatched the first place from Côte d’Ivoire to become Africa’s new number one.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 7 April 2016.
Leader
Belgium (unchanged)
Moves into top ten
none
Moves out of top ten
none
Matches played in total
14
Most matches played
Congo DR, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Lebanon, Mali (2 matches each)
Biggest move by points
Venezuela (plus 57 points)
Biggest move by ranks
Armenia (plus 7 ranks)
Biggest drop by points
Côte d'Ivoire (minus 84 points)
Biggest drop by ranks
Sao Tome e Príncipe (minus 15 ranks)