Belgium's national – the Belgian Red Devils – have retained their 2nd place, behind Brazil, in the latest FIFA rankings – the last before the World Cup – published on Thursday.
Since the last ranking was published on August 25, Belgium has played two matches in the Nations League. After beating Wales 2-1 in Brussels, the Devils lost 1-0 in Amsterdam to the Netherlands (FIFA), missing out on the UEFA Nations League. Brazil for its part beat Ghana (3-0) and Tunisia (5-1) in a friendly match.
The gap between the Seleção and the Red Devils increased from 16 to 24 points. Argentina completes the world podium, ahead of France and England.
The only change in the top 10 concerns Italy and Spain. The Azzurri went from 7th to 6th place at the expense of La Roja, who went the other way.
Roberto Martinez’s team will play their next match on 18 November in Kuwait against Egypt (39th in Fifa rankings), the last 'rehearsal' before the World Cup in Qatar starts.
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In Qatar, the Red Devils will face Canada (41th), Morocco (22nd) and Croatia (12th) in the first round.
Brazil had dislodged Belgium from 1st place in the FIFA rankings on March 31. The Devils had been installed in since September 2018 in the chair of the 1st nation in the world, which they had already occupied between November 2015 and March 2016.
The next FIFA ranking will be published on December 22, four days after the World Cup final.
