Football
Dale Johnson, General Editor, ESPN FC 7y

Argentina stay top of FIFA World Ranking, Brazil close in up to second

Argentina will stay top of the FIFA World Ranking when the new table is published on Nov. 24, but Brazil are closing fast and have moved up into second place.

Brazil would have taken over at the top had Argentina lost their World Cup qualifier to Colombia on Tuesday night, but a 3-0 victory preserves their No. 1 position for now.

Tite's Brazil, who have not topped the ranking since before the 2010 World Cup, beat Argentina 3-0 last week before winning 2-0 in Peru. But their climb up to second still represents their best placing since before those finals in South Africa over six years ago.

Brazil's ascent is one of only two changes inside the top 10, with reigning world champions Germany -- the top-ranked European nation -- dropping one place below them into third. The other move is from Chile, who switch places with Colombia and go fifth.

Switzerland jump three places to 11th place with their World Cup qualifying win over Faroe Islands being their only fixture, with Croatia up two into 14th and Italy dropping three into 16th.

Costa Rica are rewarded for their 4-0 win over United States to become the top ranked CONCACAF nation in 17th, one place above Mexico. USA drop four places to 28th after also losing to Mexico over the last week.

Peru go up four places into 19th to equal their highest-ever position, while Netherlands again drop out of the top 20 and now sit in 22nd.

Republic of Ireland are one of the biggest climbers near the top of the ranking, their crucial 1-0 win in Austria moving them up 10 places into 23rd, while Scotland are down nine to 66th after losing to England.

Iran remain the No. 1 nation in Asia, but drop three places into 30th, with South Korea up seven into 37th and Japan up six to 45th. Australia, meanwhile, slump eight places to 48th.

Senegal are now the top-ranked African nation, although they drop a place to 33rd. Ivory Coast and Tunisia are just behind in joint 34th, dropping three and climbing four respectively.

Burkina Faso shoot up 17 places into 50th after beating Cape Verde 2-0 in a qualifier for Russia 2018, level with Nigeria who climb 10 places. Egypt are also up 10, into 36th, but Ghana's poor World Cup qualifying campaign is reflected in their fall of seven places to 52nd.

New FIFA Ranking Top 20
1 Argentina
2 Brazil
3 Germany
4 Belgium
5 Chile
6 Colombia
7 France
8 Portugal
9 Uruguay
10 Spain
11 Switzerland
12 Wales
13 England
14 Croatia
15 Poland
16 Italy
17 Costa Rica
18 Mexico
19 Peru
20 Ecuador

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