BOLA – Portugal maintains eighth place in the ranking (FIFA)
The National Team maintained its eighth place in the FIFA rankings and will end the calendar year in that position in the hierarchy, which continues to be led by Belgium, reported this Friday, the highest body in world football.
Since the last update, in October, Portugal has drawn a game, with the Republic of Ireland (0-0), and lost another, with Serbia (2-1), having failed to qualify directly for the 2022 World Cup, and is now forced to compete in the play-offs for access to the final phase.
Even so, the quinas team held the eighth position in the world ranking and will remain there until the end of the year, as it will only compete again in March, precisely at the time of the ‘play-offs’.
Belgium, leader since 2018, Brazil and France maintain, respectively, the first three places in the classification, which now has England in fourth position and Argentina in fifth, compared to the drop of two places by Italy, which is sixth.
Spain remains in seventh place, ahead of Portugal, Denmark (ninth) and the Netherlands, who entered the ‘top 10’ in exchange for Mexico, who dropped to 14th.
Among the teams led by the Portuguese, Poland, led by Paulo Sousa, is the best superior, despite having dropped four places, to 27th, while South Korea (Paulo Bento) rose from 35th to 33. º.
Egypt, by Carlos Queiroz, dropped one position to 45th.
Cameroon (50th), by António Conceição, and Bahrain (90th), by Hélio Sousa, advanced one position in the ranking, while Togo, led by Paulo Duarte, registered a rise of nine places in the ranking. 134th to the 125th.
With regard to the PALOP (Portuguese-speaking countries), Cape Verde (73.º), Guinea-Bissau (106.º), Mozambique (117.º), Angola (127.º) and São Tomé and Príncipe ( 189) confirmed the upward trend.
Macau (182) and East Timor (194) kept their respective posts.