Spain still atop FIFA rankings

• Tweet

NYON, Switzerland, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Spain continues to hold the No. 1 spot in the FIFA men's world soccer rankings, with No. 2 Germany and third-ranked Argentina well behind.

There were relatively few matches since the December rankings that figured into the points and there were no changes in the FIFA Top 10. Further down the chart, however, Ecuador moved to an all-time best No. 12 ranking.

Spain has 1,606 points solidly ahead of Germany's 1,437 and the 1,290-point total of Argentina.

Italy (1,165) is fourth but just one point up on No. 5 Colombia, while England's sixth-place total of 1,151 is close behind. Portugal comes in seventh at 1,144.

The Netherlands has 1,124 points for eighth place, followed by No. 9 Russia (1,070) and Croatia (1,064) in 10th.

The FIFA world rankings are determined by points awarded from match results in a three-year period, with more recent games given greater weight. Teams get additional points for playing relatively strong opponents. The next ranking update is scheduled for Feb. 14.