ZURICH — Belgium rose to its highest-ever spot at No. 3 in the latest FIFA monthly rankings, which are still led by World Cup winner Germany.
Argentina is second, and Belgium traded places with No. 4 Colombia.
Brazil, which beat France in an exhibition game last month, rose to No. 5 and swapped places with the Netherlands at No. 6.
Switzerland and Spain return to the top 10, at Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.
Costa Rica fell two spots to No. 15 but still leads CONCACAF nations. Mexico rose three to No. 18 and the United States is at No. 27, up five places.
Algeria is Africa’s best at No. 21, and No. 40 Iran is the best-ranked Asian team.
The April rankings decide seeding for Asia’s World Cup qualifying group draw featuring 40 teams. Bhutan rises to No. 163 from last among 209 FIFA members after beating Sri Lanka home and away.
Seeding for the European qualifying groups will be decided by the July rankings ahead of the July 25 draw in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Wales, inspired by Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale, could be in the second-seeded pot after rising to its highest-ever ranking of No. 22.
FIFA’s April 2015 rankings in full >>
USA-Switzerland verdict: USMNTÂ improves, melts down >>
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@ussoccer
