Spain - Team of the Year 2009

Because only around 30 matches were taken into account for the final FIFA rankings of the year, there was no change at the top, with Spain continuing to lead the way ahead of Brazil and the Netherlands. The Iberians, once again, take the crown of Team...

Because only around 30 matches were taken into account for the final FIFA rankings of the year, there was no change at the top, with Spain continuing to lead the way ahead of Brazil and the Netherlands.

The Iberians, once again, take the crown of Team of the Year, as their surprise defeat to the US at the FIFA Confederations Cup was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect record in the 16 matches they played.

Judged solely in terms of their climb up the rankings, the biggest movers of the year were the Faroe Islands (117th, up 67), Nicaragua (133rd, up 48), Benin (59th, up 42), Algeria (26th, up 38) and Montenegro (74th, up 38).

Malta will complete the year 146th, a jump of three places from the previous position in November and two higher than January 2009.

The other UEFA members behind Malta in the world rankings are: Liechtenstein (154), Andorra (202) and San Marino (203).

The total number of matches played in 2009 increased to 834.

This figure is higher than four years ago, but much lower than the pre-World Cup years of 2001 and 1997.

The top 20 nations

1. Spain; 2. Brazil; 3. Netherlands; 4. Italy; 5. Portugal; 6. Germany; 7. France; 8. Argentina; 9. England; 10. Croatia; 11. Cameroon; 12. Russia; 13. Greece; 14. United States; 15. Chile; 16. Ivory Coast; 17. Mexico; 18. Switzerland; 19. Serbia; 20. Uruguay.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.