Germany rises to top of FIFA rankings; Spain, England slump down

By foxsports
Published

ZURICH, Switzerland --  Germany climbed to No. 1 in the FIFA rankings Thursday after winning the World Cup, and the United States fell two places to 15th despite reaching the round of 16.

Germany beat Argentina 1-0 on Sunday to win its fourth World Cup and first in 24 years. It replaced deposed champion Spain at the top of the monthly FIFA rankings.

Argentina jumped three places to the No. 2 ranking and the Netherlands soared 12 spots to No. 3 after beating host Brazil in the third-place game.

The Americans, who lost to Belgium in their first knockout game, were overtaken in the rankings by the Dutch, Chile and France.

Colombia reached the quarterfinals and is now ranked fourth, with Belgium fifth. Spain dropped to eighth after its title defense ended in the group stage. First-round exits also led to Portugal falling seven places to 11th, Italy dropping five to 14th and England plummeting 10 spots to 20th.