ZURICH (AP) — Asian Cup winner Qatar and new African champion Ivory Coast moved up into the top 40 of the FIFA men’s world rankings on Thursday.
Qatar retaining its Asian title fueled a rise of 21 places to No. 37 – its highest in the rankings’ 32-year history – and Ivory Coast moved up 10 to No. 39. Ivory Coast was No. 12 in 2013.
The top 10 led by 2022 World Cup winner Argentina stayed unchanged as South American and European teams have not played competitive games this year. France is No. 2 and England is No. 3.
Morocco at No. 12 is the highest ranked team from outside the two most powerful continents. The 2022 World Cup semifinalist rose one place despite exiting the Africa Cup of Nations in the round of 16 against South Africa.
Japan is highest of the Asian teams at No. 18 after losing in the Asian Cup quarterfinals.
The two beaten finalists last weekend also made big moves. Nigeria is No. 28, up 14, and Jordan rose 17 places to No. 70.
The United States is No. 13, dropping one place in a swap with Morocco, and Mexico is No. 15.
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