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#7 Spain | Points: 1704.75
Spain are in 7th position in the FIFA World Rankings for December, but they have a young and talented squad capable of rising up even more under Luis Enrique.
After comfortably qualifying from their World Cup qualification group, Spain also made it to the UEFA Nations League final where they lost a closely contested match against France.
With the likes of Pedri, Ferran Torres and Gavi, Spain have some extremely talented youngsters capable of beating any team on their day. Luis Enrique's men have put in some brilliant performances this year and La Roja will definitely be a team to watch out for in Qatar 2022.
#6 Italy | Points: 1740.77
It has been a tale of 2 halves in 2021 for the Italian men's football national team. The Azzuri played brilliantly in the first half of 2021 qualifying to the UEFA Nations League semi-finals and then winning Euro 2020 playing some beautiful football along the way.
However, recently, Roberto Mancini's men have struggled to get the right results. After falling to Spain in the UEFA Nations League semi-final, Italy surprisingly finished 2nd in their FIFA World Cup qualifying group (behind Switzerland).
This has set up a tantalizing potential World Cup qualifying playoff clash against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in March 2022. Italy will be looking to bounce back from their performances in the last 3 months and qualify for the FIFA World Cup next year.
#5 Argentina | Points: 1750.51
Lionel Messi finally won a senior international trophy this year when Argentina beat Brazil in the Copa America final. Argentina have also already qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and have been extremely impressive under manager Lionel Scaloni.
With Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martinez and Angel Di Maria spearheading the attack, Argentina are capable of breaking down any opposition defense. They have also become extremely solid defensively, with the likes of Romero and Emi Martinez putting in some noteworthy performances.
One trophy that has been missing from Messi's glittering trophy cabinet has been the FIFA World Cup. Argentina fans will be hoping that 2022 will be the year when the 7-time Ballon d'Or winner finally gets his hand on football's most coveted prize.
#4 England | Points: 1755.52
England have been extremely consistent under Gareth Southgate to end the FIFA World Rankings for 2021 in 4th position. The Three Lions almost won an elusive international trophy at Euro 2020, but fell just short against a resolute Italy in the final.
The England squad has plenty of talented youngsters coming through while the senior members in the squad have all been performing at an extremely high level for the past 4 years.
Gareth Southgate has plenty of players to choose from and will need to make some tough decisions ahead of the FIFA 2022 World Cup at Qatar.
