After
surrendering first place to France earlier in the year, the
'Samba Kings' are once again number one in world football. The
Brazilians’ seven consecutive wins, and early exits by France
and Argentina, left only one team from the leading trio in the
running for top spot and the dazzling boys from Brazil can now
once again settle back on football’s throne.
World Cup
runner-up Germany (5th, up 6) missed out on promotion to number
two in ranking when it was defeated in the final, but the
Germans are nonetheless back in the top-10. Compared with the
last ranking, England (8th, up 4) gain considerable ground,
while Colombia (9th, down 5) and Italy (10th, down 4) both slide
down several places.
Turkey’s
unexpected run of victories catapults it to heady new heights
(12th, up 10) from which they can set its sights on the top-10.
Meanwhile, Mover of the Month Korea Republic (22nd, up 18)
reclaim its place as Asia’s top team for a second time since the
end of 1998. Senegal’s surprise performances give the African
nation an astounding 11-place boost up the table, making it the
third-best African team in the ranking, behind the
well-established powers of Cameroon and Nigeria.
In the lower half
of the table, the world watched as Bhutan (199th, up 3) notched
up a victory against Montserrat to claim a place in the top 200.
Of the six
matches in which the victors amassed scores in excess of the
highly elusive 50-point mark, Denmark’s 2-0 victory over France
(52.6 points), Germany’s 8-0 demolition of Saudi Arabia (52.5
points), and England’s 3-0 win against Denmark (51.6 points)
were the pick of the bunch.
