Thursday 19 September 2019, 08:00

Belgium stay top, Kosovo reach record high

Belgium remain top of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking after an action-packed number of weeks in international football which saw 78 friendlies, 74 continental qualifiers and 60 FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ qualifiers take place.

Though the teams in the top ten remain unchanged, there has been some movement. France (2nd, up 1) and Brazil (3rd, down 1) have traded places, while Spain (7th, up 2) are the top ten’s biggest movers.

The Cayman Islands (193rd, up 11), and Grenada (160th, up 13) are the joint-biggest climbers by points, reaping the rewards after their successful showing in the Concacaf Nations League. Indeed, Grenada’s 13-place surge means that they are September’s highest climber by ranks.

Other notable upwardly mobile nations include Jamaica (47th, up 5) who have broken into the top 50, Republic of Ireland (28th, up 4), Russia (42nd, up 4), Guatemala (133th, up 11), Suriname (142th, up 9), Montserrat (187th, up 9) and Djibouti (186, up 9), who recently overcame Eswatini (150, down 11) over two legs to advance to the second round of African World Cup qualifying for just the second time.

Meanwhile, Kosovo (119, plus 1) have been rewarded for their valiant showing in UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying by reaching their best-ever position in the FIFA Ranking.

The Cook Islands are not ranked in the latest standings due to not playing an international "A" match in the last four years. After their next international "A" match, they will be included in the ranking table again with their points total from July 2019 plus/minus the points won or lost in the new match.

The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 24 October 2019.

LeaderBelgium (unchanged)
Moves into top 10none
Moves out of top 10none
Matches played in total212
Most matches playedIraq (7 matches)
Biggest move by pointsCayman Islands, Grenada, (plus 28 points each)
Biggest move by ranksGrenada (plus 13 ranks)
Biggest drop by pointsChinese Taipei (minus 25 points)
Biggest drop by ranksEswatini, Nicaragua (minus 11 ranks each)
Newly ranked teamsnone
Teams that are no longer rankednone
Inactive teams, not rankedCook Islands