Portugal go fourth, African quartet hit personal bests

The results of 54 ‘A’ internationals, all of which were friendlies distributed over all six confederations, were taken into account for the latest edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. While the top ten has seen only one change, with Portugal (4th, up 1) swapping places with Uruguay (5th, down 1), there has been a lot more activity in the remainder of the top 20, where Switzerland (20th, up 3) have extended Europe’s predominance as the 14th UEFA team, Mexico (21st, down 3) have fallen below 20th for the first time since March 2012, and Ecuador (17th, up 3) have become one of the top 20 teams in their continued climb from the previous month by moving up a further three places. The major movers in the top 50 include European sides Slovenia (24th, up 9), Belgium (40th, up 13), and Austria (49th, up 11), whose 2-0 win at home over Turkey has seen them back in the top 50 after one and a half years. Belgium have brought their three-and-a-half-month stretch out of the top 50 to an end with a 4-2 victory over neighbouring Netherlands, extending the Red Devils’ unbeaten run at home to nine, while Slovenia secured their first victory over Romania in six years, winning 4-3. No fewer than four African teams have achieved their highest-ever FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking position, with Mali (32nd, up 7), Libya (36th, up 2), Central African Republic (64th, up 7) and South Sudan (197th, up 2) all climbing ahead of their forthcoming CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2013 qualifiers.