Thursday 20 February 2020, 09:00

Belgium stay top, Palestine make gains 

With few matches having been played on the international front so far this year, there is little movement in the first FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking of 2020.

Indeed, with just 15 friendlies taking place since the last Ranking update in December – including two games in late 2019 – the top 20 remain unchanged, with Belgium, France and Brazil still making up the top three.

Some minor movement in the top 50 sees Wales (23rd, down 1) and Paraguay (41st, down 1) each fall down a spot, while Ghana (46th, up 1) rise ever so slightly.

Palestine (103rd, up 3) are the first biggest climbers of 2020. The AFC side’s success in January’s Bangabandhu Cup sees them leapfrog Estonia, Trinidad and Tobago, Mozambique and Kenya as they secured the biggest move by points and rank.

Beaten Bangabandhu Cup finalists Burundi (149, up 2), who like Palestine contested four matches in January, move into the top 150.

Elsewhere, Aruba (200, up 1) and Pakistan (200, up 1) managed to improve on their respective positions amidst a rather quiet month in international football.

The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 9 April 2020.

LeaderBelgium (unchanged)
Moves into top 10none
Moves out of top 10none
Matches played in total15 (2 from 2019)
Most matches playedBurundi, Palestine (4 games each)
Biggest move by pointsPalestine (plus 5 points)
Biggest move by ranksPalestine (plus 3 ranks)
Biggest drop by pointsCosta Rica, Japan, Mauritius, Sri Lanka (minus 3 points each)
Biggest drop by ranksHong Kong, Seychelles (minus 2 ranks each)
Newly ranked teamsnone
Teams no longer rankednone
Inactive teams, not rankedCook Islands