World Cup champion France tops FIFA rankings; Germany 15th

Posted August 16, 2018 7:00 am

The Associated Press

ZURICH (AP) - World Cup champion France is No. 1 in the FIFA rankings for the first time in 16 years.

Germany, the previous World Cup champion, dropped from first to 15th on Thursday after its elimination in the group stage. The U.S., which did not qualify for the World Cup, advanced three spots to No. 22.

France beat Croatia 4-2 last month for its second World Cup title, and jumped six places to reclaim the top spot it last held in 2002. Belgium, which lost to France in the semifinals, moved up one place to second.

Brazil, beaten by Belgium in the quarterfinals, fell to third while Croatia climbed 16 places to fourth to equal its best ranking from five years ago. World Cup quarterfinalist Uruguay jumped nine spots to fifth and semifinalist England moved to sixth from 12th.

Host Russia began the tournament as the lowest-ranked of the 32 teams. But an unexpected run to the quarterfinals resulted in a leap of 21 places to 49th.

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