Argentina soar to fourth but leading trio unchanged
Malta gain one spot
Recent continental competitions have engendered changes throughout this month's edition of the FIFA World Rankings.
Argentina's penalty shoot-out second place in the Copa America has seen the South Americans not only return to the Top Ten, but also rocket to fourth place, to the chagrin of the Czech Republic (5th, down 1).
No changes at the top for the leaders: Brazil 1st, France 2nd, Spain 3rd, a trio whose composition has amazingly remained virtually unruffled since August 2002.
In the Asian Cup, surprise quarter-finalists Uzbekistan (51st, up 29) can celebrate twice over - despite narrowly missing out on a place in the Top 50, their Best Mover of the Month title also brings them an historic best-ever slot in the ranking.
Other big wins are evident across South America and Asia - Uruguay (19th, up 13), Peru (61st, up 14), China PR (51st, up 13) and Oman (50th, up 8).
Unfortunately for South Korea (22nd, down 2) and Iran (24th, down 3), their substantial points gains do not result in a move up the table, primarily due to other teams claiming even more points in the game feast during the last four weeks.
For this month's rankings, 73 new 'A' matches were evaluated, bringing this year's total to 620 games so far.
The regional composition of the Top 50 has been altered in Asia's favour this month: AFC: 8 teams (up 2); CAF: 9; CONCACAF: 3 (down 1); CONMEBOL; 6 (down 1); OFC: 0; UEFA: 24.
Meanwhile, Malta registered a slight improvement on the previous ranking, climbing one rung from 132nd to 131st, level on 360 points with Madagascar.
Faroe Islands, who host the Maltese national team for a friendly match on August 18, are ranked 137th.
Other European minnows trailing Malta in the FIFA rankings are Andorra (149), Liechtenstein (154), Luxembourg (157) and San Marino (167).