FIFA World Ranking 2015: Wales Reach Record Heights in Latest Standings – Bleacher Report
Wales have climbed to 22nd in the FIFA World Ranking, the nation’s highest ever position, after posting an unbeaten start to the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.
The April 9 update also sees Belgium move into an all-time high of third and Spain head back into the top 10 after dropping out in March.
Here’s a look at the latest standings:
Eagle-eyed readers will notice France have dropped out of the top 10 to 11th after their loss to Brazil, while Italy’s draws with Bulgaria and England have seen them slip three to 13th. Romania currently split the two in 12th, per FIFA.com’s full rankings.
Wales’ achievement certainly stands out after the recent round of qualifiers and friendlies. Chris Coleman’s men have lost just one of their last 10 matches—a 2-0 defeat to the Netherlands—since October 2013. Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey continue to inspire the hard-working team, highlighted in the 3-0 win away at Israel at the end of March.
FIFA’s official Twitter account highlighted Wales’ feat:
NEW #FIFARANKING @GarethBale11's Wales achieve highest ever ranking as biggest points mover http://t.co/9WQCSiT3TT http://t.co/B5O1roaOrf
“It’s a fantastic achievement and if it’s the highest ever then it shows we’re doing something right,” commented Wales defender Chris Gunter, per BBC Sport. “But as high as we are in the rankings, we want to make sure that come next October (when the Euro 2016 qualifying process ends) we’re where we want to be.”
England remain the highest-ranked of the home nations, moving up three places to 14th. Roy Hodgson’s men have put together a run of eight unbeaten games since the World Cup, per Soccerway, and look to be improving all the time.
A total of 135 matches were played across the last month, meaning sweeping changes have taken place across the board. April’s highest climbers by points are Wales (up 153), while Bhutan’s two wins over Sri Lanka move them up 46 ranks to 163rd, the highest of any side, per the 2018 FIFA World Cup feed:
NEW #FIFARANKING #WorldCup qualifying heroes #Bhutan are the biggest climbers this month #WCQ http://t.co/NPTykMff8M http://t.co/ikTBS20bIb
Israel suffered the steepest drop by points (down 231). However, New Caledonia fell 23 places to 174th, this month’s ranking record.
The next round of European qualifying doesn’t arrive until June, so we can expect minimal changes when FIFA’s next update lands on May 7.
Wales face Belgium next time out, so they will have to work extremely hard to maintain their position.
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