International soccer’s busy calendar hasn’t done anything to help or harm the top teams’ places in the worldwide pecking order.
FIFA released its latest rankings on its website Thursday in the aftermath of the 2016 UEFA European Championship and Copa America 2016. The top five remain unchanged from a month ago, with Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, Germany and Chile occupying spots one through five.
The unchanged leaderboard is somewhat puzzling, as Chile won Copa America, beating Argentina on penalty kicks in the final. Belgium and Germany exited Euro 2016 in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
Euro 2016 winner Portugal moved up two spots to No. 6. France, the team Portugal defeated in the final, jumped 10 places to No. 7.
The United States improved to No. 25, leaping six places on the back of its semifinal appearance in Copa America. Team USA beat Costa Rica (No. 27), Paraguay (42) and Ecuador (17) but lost to Argentina and Colombia twice during the tournament.
Mexico remains the standard-bearer in the CONCACAF region, occupying 14th place.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images
