Spain increases lead; Germany takes over second
Posted on Wed, Aug. 06, 2008
By Sports Network
The Sports Network
The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Rankings for the month of August were released on Wednesday, and they saw top-ranked Spain open up a sizable advantage on the rest of the field.
Although there were minimal changes in the rankings due to a lack of activity, the top 10 teams saw some minor movement as Germany slipped past Italy and into second place, although they are still well behind defending Euro 2008 champions Spain.
Italy dropped one spot into third, while South American powerhouses Brazil (6th, down 2) and Argentina (7th, down1) both moved down, allowing the Netherlands (4th, up 1) and Croatia (5th, up 2) to pass them.
Croatia is at its highest position in the table since 1999, while Brazil, which has been a top-five fixture since the rankings were introduced, falls to sixth, representing the country's second-worst ranking ever.
The Czech Republic and Portugal remain the same in eighth and ninth place respectively, while Russia moved past France and into the top 10 for the first time in more than 10 years.
There was a lack of significant movement in this month's rankings, but easily the biggest drop belongs to Mexico (32nd, down 13), which fell behind CONCACAF rivals the United States (31st, down 1).
Iran (45th, down 8) also had a tough time this past month, while Egypt (21st, up 3), Paraguay (22nd, up 3) the Ivory Coast (25th, up 3) and Chile (39th, up 4) were among the team's who made the biggest improvements.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on Sept. 3, 2008.
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