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FIFA Rankings 2012

By Clifford AGA 22/01/2012 05:48:00

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The first set of football rankings have been released for this year, and they give us an idea as to how all the teams fared in the year 2011. Here are the latest FIFA world rankings 2012...

The Euro qualifiers are done and dusted, and now we have the very first FIFA world rankings 2012. The last update in the rankings by FIFA was on December 21, 2011, so these rankings can be termed as the year-ending rankings for 2011, or the first of the FIFA rankings 2012.

For the fourth straight year, European and world champions Spain has topped the rankings at the year-end, which is no mean feat. Three teams are battling it out for the second spot in the rankings, namely Netherlands, Germany and Uruguay, with 4th ranked Uruguay just 56 points behind current 2nd ranked Netherlands. More than a thousand friendly as well as official FIFA matches were played during the year 2011, and as far as the biggest gainer in terms of points and positions is concerned, Wales took the honors, and are now holding the 49th spot in the FIFA rankings 2012. There has not been much change in the top teams in the last couple of months, but that can all change this year with a lot to play for.

Here is a look at the 2012 FIFA rankings as of now.

Bosnia-Herzegovina has managed to break into the top 20 in the table, for the first time. Japan is the top ranked Asian team, while Côte d'Ivoire is the best African team, and Algeria, at 30, is the highest ranked Arab soccer team. Every international match that is played proves to be vital for the teams regarding the FIFA rankings. It is clear that teams like France, Brazil, and Argentina are not doing as well as we know they can in the rankings, so they will definitely be out there to prove a point. Stay tuned to this space for the next update as it happens, which is in February 2012.