Spain shot to the top of the world soccer rankings for the first time yesterday, courtesy of the Euro 2008 title it won on Sunday.
The European championships brought a major shake-up in the rankings issued by FIFA, soccer’s governing body, with Argentina plunging from first to sixth place and Brazil also no longer in the top three.
Spain lead the way with 1,557 points, climbing from fourth place to become only the fifth team in the ranking’s 15-year history to climb to the top. The others are Germany, Brazil, Italy and Argentina.
World champions Italy are second with 1,404 and the losing Euro finalists Germany have 1,364.
The ranking system is based on international results over the past four years with more points awarded for wins in major tournaments.
Former leaders Argentina saw their nine-month spell at the top of the rankings come to an end, tumbling down to sixth place after a disappointing month that included two draws in World Cup qualifying against Ecuador and Brazil.
Greece, the 2004 European champions, suffered an even bigger drop, from eighth to 18th, after losing the points gained from their shock title win and suffering a group stage exit from this year’s event.
Russia’s surprise run to the semi-finals has seen them surge 13 places to 11th, their best ranking in more than 10 years.
After failing even to qualify for the tournament, England dropped six places to 15th, their lowest position since 2001.
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