Argentina's run at top of FIFA world rankings predicted to end despite huge Brazil win as supercomputer reveals new No 1
Argentina's impressive run at the top of the FIFA world rankings is set to end despite their stunning victory over Brazil as a supercomputer has revealed a new No.1.
Argentina finished 2024 as the No.1 men's team in the world for the second straight year, according to FIFA rankings.
Their position at the top comes after their World Cup triumph in 2022 and their Copa America success last summer.
Lionel Messi inspired his country to their third World Cup in Qatar and his first as a player.
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More recently, Argentina beat Uruguay and Brazil in back-to-back World Cup qualifiers.
They beat Uruguay 1-0 before smashing old rivals Brazil 4-1 in Buenos Aires.
Messi didn't feature in either match but appeared to aim a dig at Raphinha following his side's victory over Brazil.
Despite Argentina's continued success on the international stage, ELO have predicted a new No.1 through its own calculations.
ELO have forecasted Spain as the new No.1, with its data ranking them above Argentina by 10 points.
It's not guaranteed that Spain will be above Argentina in the official FIFA world rankings, but ELO have the European champions ahead of the South American giants.
According to ELO's findings, Spain have registered 2150 points ahead of Argentina's 2140.
Spain won last summer's European Championship, beating England 2-1 in the final.
And they reached the Nations League semi-finals following their 5-4 penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands.
Spain were last top in 2014 before the World Cup that year, which was won by Germany, who beat Argentina 1-0 (a.e.t).
France (2031), England (2012) and Brazil (1994) are ranked third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Colombia and Uruguay make up the top ten.
The likes of Italy, Japan, Belgium and Mexico feature in the top 25.
The next FIFA rankings will be published in April.
Nasir Jabbar