ZURICH, Switzerland, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Argentina, with a strong start in 2010 World Cup qualifying, jumped to the No. 1 spot in the FIFA men’s world soccer rankings released Wednesday.
Argentina posted a 2-0 victory over Venezuela Oct. 16 and has won both its matches in World Cup qualifying. Those wins allowed the Argentineans to regain the No. 1 spot in the world rankings.
Brazil, also 2-0 in qualifying, remained second, while Italy, which was No. 1 in the September rankings, dropped to third. Italy’s drop was mostly due to devaluation of points credited for wins in previous years.
The FIFA world rankings are determined by a team’s results over the past four years -- with the importance of the match and strength of opponent part of the equation. Recent matches are given more value than past results.
European teams are ranked fourth through 10th. France moved up two spots to fourth, with Germany -- which lost 3-0 to the Czech Republic -- falling to fifth. Spain is ranked sixth in October, followed by the Netherlands, Portugal, England and Croatia.
Russia was the biggest mover in the rankings, moving up 10 slots to 16th after beating England.
