France top new-style FIFA rankings, Germany slump to 15th The Saigon Times Daily France’s Kylian Mbappe kisses the trophy as he celebrates winning the World Cup at Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia July 15, 2018 – PHOTO: REUTERS ZURICH (REUTERS) – World champions France predictably shot to the top of the FIFA rankings published on Thursday while previous leaders Germany slumped to 15th after their humiliating first round exit in Russia. The rankings were the first to be issued since France beat Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup final on July 15 and also the first since FIFA replaced its much-criticized previous formula. France were followed by Belgium, the team they beat 1-0 in the semi-finals, with Brazil dropping one place to third after their quarter-final exit against the Belgians. Surprise finalists Croatia leapt from 20th to fourth. Quarter-finalists Uruguay climbed nine places to fifth while England’s run to the semi-finals took them up to sixth place from a previous twelfth. Argentina dropped to 11th after a chaotic campaign which included a 3-0 group stage defeat by Croatia on the way to a last 16 exit against France where they lost 4-3. Hosts Russia, who began the tournament at a modest 71st place, leapt 21 spots after their surprise run to the quarter-finals. FIFA said its new formula, approved by the FIFA Council before the World Cup, relied on adding or subtracting points, depending on the results of matches, rather than averaging points over a given period of time. The global… [Read full story]
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