A first-place finish on the last ranking of the year sees Belgium claim the Team of the Year award for 2015. The Red Devils jumped into first position (their first-ever) on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking in the November ranking, but a 3-1 victory over four-time world champion Italy in Brussels on 13 November saw them hold on to the coveted position for the final ranking of 2015. The past year has proved to be highly competitive with ranking runners-up Argentina and third-placed Spain outpacing 2014 Team of the Year Germany on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking for 2015.
December performances
Hungary made history in November by defeating Norway in a two-legged playoff to secure a place at EURO 2016 – the tournament will be their first major final since the 1986 FIFA World Cup™. Their November results have pushed them into their best-ever position on the World Ranking. Similarly, Kyrgyzstan and Nicaragua have also secured their best-ever ranking positions. In contrast, Portugal dropped three places into 7th having lost 145 points – the most points lost by a team in November.
The December edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking was dominated by 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ qualifiers. Of the 137 matches taken into account for the latest ranking more than two thirds (92 games) were World Cup qualifiers; eight of the 137 games were playoff matches to determine the final four teams to qualify for EURO 2016, and the remaining 37 matches were international friendlies.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 7 January 2016.
Summary