Argentina received a deserved bump in FIFA's updated men's world rankings but failed to overtake Brazil for top spot despite winning the 2022 World Cup.

A day after beating France in a thrilling final in Qatar, Argentina moved into second place, while South American rival Brazil retained the No. 1 spot even though the Selecao crashed out of the World Cup in the quarterfinals.

Argentina or France would've usurped Brazil had Sunday's finale been decided within the allotted 120 minutes of playing time. But since shootout victories are worth fewer points than a regulation win, according to FIFA's calculation, Brazil's place atop the rankings was assured when extra time was over at Lusail Stadium in Doha.

Brazil won three matches in Qatar before falling to Croatia on penalties, while Argentina won four games in regulation and two on penalties after losing its opening game against Saudi Arabia.

World Cup finalist France moved up one place to third.

The United States, meanwhile, overtook Mexico as the highest-ranked CONCACAF nation, moving three places into 13th. Mexico is ranked 15th, while Canada suffered one of the biggest drops by plummeting 12 places to 53rd.

Morocco skyrocketed up the rankings after producing an unforeseen run to the World Cup semifinals. The Atlas Lions jumped 11 places into 11th place, becoming Africa's highest-ranked team. Australia and Cameroon also enjoyed double-digit rises - ranked 27th and 33rd, respectively - after exceeding expectations in Qatar.

Meanwhile, Belgium fell two places from second to fourth after failing to make it out of the group stage. The Red Devils are ahead of fifth-place England and sixth-ranked Netherlands.

Source: theScore

BDST: 1119 HRS, DEC 20, 2022
MN