MOSCOW, April 4. /TASS/. The Russian national football team has climbed three places in the FIFA World Ranking, according to the list published by the world’s governing body of football on Thursday.
Team Russia is now 35th globally with 1504.02 points following its friendly football match in Moscow on March 21 against Serbia (4-0). Russia was scheduled to play another friendly against the team from Paraguay on March 25, but it was canceled after the deadly terrorist attack in the Russian capital on March 22.
FIFA’s Top-10 list is as follows: 1st Argentina (1858 points); 2nd France (1840.59); 3rd Belgium (1795.23); 4th England (1794.9); 5th Brazil (1788.65); 6th Portugal (1748.11); 7th the Netherlands (1742.29); 8th Spain (1727.5); 9th Italy (1724.6) and 10th Croatia (1721.07).
Belgium finds itself back in the top three after beating powerhouse England in a recent friendly.
FIFA said in a statement on Thursday that: "A total of 174 matches, spanning all four corners of the globe, were played during the most recent window in the Men’s International Match Calendar."
"There were also several friendly matches in each of the six confederations as part of the FIFA Series 2024," the statement continued. "These matches have had a significant effect on the FIFA Men’s World Ranking, most notably within the top ten."
"Argentina (1st) continue to lead the way ahead of France (2nd), but Belgium (3rd, up 1) have returned to the podium at the expense of England (4th, down 1). Brazil (5th) complete the top five, but Portugal (6th, up 1) are now knocking on the door. The Netherlands (7th, down 1) have slipped one place, whereas Spain (8th), Italy (9th) and Croatia (10th) have all held on to their positions," according to FIFA.
The next edition of the FIFA World Rankings will be published on June 20, 2024.
Russia’s football ban
The International Association Football Federation (FIFA) announced on February 28, 2022 that the Russian national team and all professional clubs representing the country were barred from taking part in FIFA tournaments.
In turn, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) made a similar decision in regard to the Russian national football team’s participation in UEFA tournaments.
Both FIFA and UEFA cited Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine as grounds for their respective bans on Russian teams’ participation in competitions.
Since sanctions were introduced, the Russian national football squad has played a host of friendlies against other countries. In 2023, Russia played friendly matches against Iran (1-1), Iraq (2-0), Qatar (1-1), Cameron (1-0), Kenya (2-2), Cuba (8-0), Serbia (4-0).