Dutch on the rise
Malta national team climb 11 places
Ninety-one games have been taken into account for the March edition of the FIFA world rankings, three-quarters of which were friendly matches.
The Netherlands (2nd, up 1) are once again Spain’s closest challengers thanks to their 3-2 victory in England, which was coupled with a 2-1 defeat for Germany (3rd, down 1).
Argentina (8th, up 3) have returned to the top ten after a one-month absence, pushing Denmark (11th, down 1) out of the coveted positions in the process.
In Asia, 10 matches in the third round of the preliminary competition for the 2014 World Cup have left their mark.
Uzbekistan (67th, up 10) beat Japan (33rd, down 3) 1-0 to claim top spot in their group, and they now head into round four defending an unbeaten record.
South Korea (30th, up 4) have also benefited from Japan’s slip-up to surge past the Blue Samurai for the first time since 2004, whereas Australia (20th, up 2) have also returned to the top 20 thanks to their 4-2 win over Saudi Arabia.
Malta improved their position in the FIFA chart (148th, up 11) on the back of the 2-1 victory over Liechtenstein in last week’s friendly match at the National Stadium.
While the national team moved up 11 positions, Liechtenstein slid 13 places down to 137th but still lead Malta by 84 ranking points.
The biggest climbers of the month all come from Africa, however, with the victors of 13 matches in the second round of 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying all securing the most points, and Congo (101st, up 29), Chad (112th, up 29) and Sao Tome (115th, up 53) in particular all causing a stir.
Top 10
1. Spain 1,561; 2. Netherlands 1,379; 3. Germany 1,332; 4. Uru-guay 1,289; 5. Brazil 1,157; 6. England 1,121; 7. Portugal 1,106; 8. Argentina 1,102; 9. Italy 1,062. 10. Croatia 1,049.