The latest edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking has a surprise in store as it reveals that Spain’s five-month reign has come to end, with Brazil reclaiming pole position and pushing the reigning European champions back into second place. This is the seventh time that Brazil have claimed top spot on the global ladder, a position that they have held for a total of 142 months since 1993.
Other moves of note in the top ten include the progress made by Argentina (7th, up 2) and Portugal (3rd, up 1). Third place represents the highest-ever position for the Portuguese since the launch of the Ranking in 1993.
Only five matches have been taken into account in April’s edition, which was to be expected, given that there are only 43 days to go until the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, and many national leagues and continental championships are now entering the home straight. As a result, the international match calendar did not have a reserved date for international matches.
This means that most of the changes in this edition of the ranking are due to the devaluation of past results. Some teams have actually gained points due to the fact that the devaluation of poor results has led to a greater weighting of successful matches.
150 international matches have been played so far in 2010. There is likely to be significant movement in next month’s edition of the ranking, the last before the big event in South Africa, as the 32 teams start their preparations in earnest by playing friendly matches to decide on their best line-up. The World Cup is looming large and making things exciting – and not just in terms of the world ranking.
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