France up to No. 3 in FIFA rankings, Belgium still No. 1

Zurich, Oct. 21 (AP):  France’s Nations League title moved the country’s national team up to No. 3 in Thursday’s FIFA rankings.

France, which won the World Cup in 2018, still trails both top-ranked Belgium and No. 2 Brazil.

The Belgians, which lost to France in the semifinals of both the World Cup and the Nations League, have been at the top of the rankings for three years.

Belgium added more ranking points than France with a better record so far in the current World Cup qualifying program and in the group stage and knockout rounds of this year’s European Championship.

Euro 2020 champion Italy rose one place to No. 4 and England dropped two to No. 5.

The top 10 is completed by Copa America champion Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Mexico and Denmark.

The rankings are likely to come into play when FIFA makes the seedings for the next World Cup draw. It is set for April 1 in Doha, Qatar.

Senegal is Africa’s best-ranked nation at No. 20, while Iran is the highest-ranked Asian nation at No. 22. World Cup host Qatar, the 2019 Asian Cup champion, is No. 46.