Argentina have overtaken Brazil at the top of the FIFA rankings, while Bafana Bafana moved up by one spot in the first edition of the rankings in 2023.
FIFA had last published their rankings on 22 December after the FIFA World Cup, but the Selecao were still on top back then despite Argentina lifting the Jules Rimet trophy.
But now, six years after last topping the ranking, the Albiceleste are back at the summit after beating Panama 2-0 and Curacao 7-0 in the recent international break, while Brazil lost 2-1 to Morocco.
Argentina were not the only side to overtake Brazil, as 2018 FIFA World Cup winners France climbed into second spot after their 4-0 win over Netherlands and 1-0 in Republic of Ireland in UEFA European Championship qualifiers.
The rest of the top 10, remained unchanged, with Belgium, England, Netherlands, Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Spain following the top three.
Morocco stayed in 11th place, the highest by an African side since Egypt were ninth in 2010, while Senegal climbed into 18th and Tunisia moved into 28th.
Further down the ranking, Algeria climbed six spots into 34th, while Egypt moved up four into 35th. Nigeria, in 40th, Cameroon in 42nd, Ivory Coast in 45th and Burkina Faso in 50th are the other African nations inside the top 50.
Hugo Broos’ South Africa remained in 12th on the continent but moved up one spot into 66th overall.
The most-improved side were Central African Republic, who climbed 10 places into 122.
