India have dropped a place in the latest FIFA rankings released earlier today, with the Blue Tigers ending the month of May ranked 163 in the FIFA rankings. At the top end of the table, Argentina and Belgium are still the two top ranked sides, but Colombia made a move into the top 3, while England dropped out of the top ten at the expense of Austria.
A series of friendlies after the end of the club season in preparation for the 2016 Copa America and the Euros has meant that there has been a relative upheaval in the rankings. However, given India’s lack of fixtures, it was no surprise to see the Blue Tigers fall, but a 1-0 win away to Laos in the Asian Cup Qualifiers might see India climb up the table in next month’s rankings.
Traditional European powerhouses like Italy, France and the Netherlands rose significantly in the table after a couple of months with poor results.
Nothern Ireland created history by rising to 25th in the rankings, their best-ever position, ahead of the ‘Green and White Army’s’ debut in the Euros in the summer. Slovakia were the biggest mover of the month, gaining 68 points to climb eight positions to 24th in the rankings, while Madagascar rose 29 positions to rise to 108th in the rankings.
Conversely, Rwanda had the biggest drop in points, dropping 16 places due to a deficit of 69 points this month. The split, by confederations, of the Top 50 is as follows: UEFA (29), CONMEBOL (8), CAF (7), CONCACAF (4) AFC (2), OFC (0).
Here is a detailed table of the Top 20 nations in the FIFA rankings:
| Rank | Team | Total Points | Previous Points | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina | 1503 | 1532 | 0 |
| 2 | Belgium | 1384 | 1364 | 0 |
| 3 | Colombia | 1328 | 1337 | 1 |
| 4 | Germany | 1310 | 1309 | 1 |
| 5 | Chile | 1293 | 1353 | -2 |
| 6 | Spain | 1267 | 1277 | 0 |
| 7 | Brazil | 1257 | 1261 | 0 |
| 8 | Portugal | 1181 | 1184 | 0 |
| 9 | Uruguay | 1150 | 1158 | 0 |
| 10 | Austria | 1077 | 1067 | 1 |
| 11 | England | 1069 | 1069 | -1 |
| 12 | Italy | 982 | 959 | 3 |
| 13 | Ecuador | 978 | 1019 | -1 |
| 14 | Netherlands | 959 | 931 | 3 |
| 15 | Switzerland | 948 | 974 | -1 |
| 16 | Mexico | 942 | 938 | 0 |
| 17 | France | 925 | 907 | 4 |
| 18 | Turkey | 919 | 983 | -5 |
| 19 | Ukraine | 894 | 880 | 3 |
| 20 | Hungary | 886 | 925 | -2 |
