MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/. The Russian national football team has climbed two places in the FIFA World Ranking and is now 33rd globally, according to the list published by the world’s governing body of football on its website.

On June 7, the Russian national team won a friendly football match against Belarus (4-0), getting ahead of Qatar and Nigeria in the rankings.

"The top three, however, remain unshakeable. Argentina (1st) retain their place at the summit, with France (2nd) and Belgium (3rd) hot on their heels. But there is movement behind them, as Brazil (4th, up 1) and England (5th, down 1) swap places. Meanwhile, Portugal (6th), the Netherlands (7th) and Spain (8th) consolidate their spots in the top ten, whilst Croatia (9th, up 1) overtake Italy (10th, down 1), who nonetheless hold onto a place among the leading pack," according to FIFA.

The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) announced on February 28, 2022 that the Russian national teams 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 regarding the Russian national football teams’ 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.