DOHA (Qatar): Belgium are the FIFA World Ranking’s Team of the Year for the second successive time after a record-breaking year for the global ladder, FIFA said on their website.
The Red Devils have held on to top spot in a December table barely impacted by just 19 friendlies towards the end of a year in which 1,082 international “A” matches have been played – an all-time high since the ranking’s 1993 inception.
World champions France remain in second place ahead of Brazil in third, the positions they held in December 2018.
But the make-up of the year-end top five has changed, with England climbing one place in 2019 to end the year in fourth and Uruguay moving up to fifth on the back of a two-spot rise.
Argentina (9th) and Colombia (10th) are also in the top ten at the expense of Switzerland (12th) and Denmark (16th), who have slipped four and six places respectively over the course of the year.
Qatar is Mover of the Year
The FIFA World Cup 2022 hosts gained an impressive 138 points over the course of a year in which they won the AFC Asian Cup and made a strong start to the Asian Zone World Cup qualifiers.
Besides accumulating the biggest points haul, Qatar have also jumped a year-high 38 places, followed closely by fellow climbers Algeria (up 32 ranks) and Japan (up 22 ranks).
Given the teams who have made the most progress in 2019, it is no surprise to find that the regional composition of the top 50 has changed over the year, with Europe’s dominance diminished.
UEFA has lost three places in the top 50 compared to the end of 2018, and now has 28 teams, whereas Concacaf (4), the AFC (4) and CAF (4) have all gained one spot apiece.
But despite all the changes witnessed over 2019, the year has ended on a quiet note, with only the most modest of movements due to the scarcity of fixtures since the ranking’s November edition.
Nonetheless, eight teams – Bahrain (99th), Bolivia (75th), Korea Republic (40th), Lesotho (139th), the Solomon Islands (141st), South Africa (71st), St Kitts and Nevis (139th) and Suriname (141st) – have all edged a single rung up the ladder, and will hope to continue that progress in 2020.
