The World Cup in Qatar came to a climactic end when Argentina were crowned champions for the first time since 1986.
La Albiceleste faced former defending champions France in a final that had the world on its toes, with both sides playing out a thrilling 3-3 draw after extra time before the Argentines prevailed on penalties.
However, despite getting their hands on football’s holy grail, Argentina narrowly missed out on the number one spot in FIFA’s latest world ranking, with fierce South American rivals and five-time world champions Brazil retaining their place at the top.
Beaten World Cup finalists France may have lost their crown, but they are back in the top three, with Belgium dropping to fourth place after a disastrous campaign in Qatar where they failed to make it out of the group stage.
England, who were one of the favourites to win the tournament but suffered a heartbreaking quarter-final exit against France, round off the top five.
Following consecutive forays into the competition’s last four, Croatia have made their way into the top ten. Zlatko Dalic’s side occupy seventh position behind Netherlands.
Italy have dropped two places to eighth after failing to qualify for the tournament in Qatar, while Portugal and Spain complete the top 10.
Morocco, the side responsible for Spain and Portugal’s early demise, are this year’s highest climbers after moving from 22nd place to number 11.
Australia and Cameroon also enjoyed a massive jump up the rankings thanks to their World Cup performances. They climbed up 11 and ten places to 27th and 33rd position respectively.
There were high hopes for Denmark after their performances in the 2020 European Championships, but they finished bottom of their group. Their disastrous displays have seen them drop eight places out of the top ten and into 18th position.
Saudi Arabia, who beat Argentina in the group phase in Qatar, also climbed up two places to move into the top 50.
Here are the top 30 teams in the latest FIFA world rankings.
1. Brazil
2. Argentina
3. France
4. Belgium
5. England
6. Netherlands
7. Croatia
8. Italy
9. Portugal
10. Spain
11. Morocco
12. Switzerland
13. United States
14. Germany
15. Mexico
16. Uruguay
17. Colombia
18. Denmark
19. Senegal
20. Japan
21. Peru
22. Poland
23. Sweden
24. Iran
25. South Korea
26. Ukraine
27. Australia
28. Wales
29. Serbia
30. Tunisia
