Italy rise in FIFA rankings after Belgium draw and Israel victory
Italy have risen in the latest FIFA rankings for men’s national team sides after the 2-2 draw with Belgium and the 4-1 win over Israel in the Nations League earlier in October.
Italy rise up to ninth in latest FIFA rankings
The Azzurri are now up to ninth place in the FIFA world rankings, climbing up one position from their previous 10th place ranking in September. Italy overtook Colombia to jump up into ninth.
FIFA’s rankings are determined through the ELO system, which calculates points based on a number of different factors including the match result, the importance of a certain game, the relative team strength and the expected result.
Reigning World Cup champions Argentina are still rated as the best men’s national side in the world, with France in second, European champions Spain in third and the losing EURO 2024 finalists England in fourth.
The other teams currently ranked above Italy include Brazil in fifth, Belgium in sixth, Portugal who have risen to seventh and the Netherlands, who have dropped to eighth.
Luciano Spalletti and his team still sit above the likes of Germany (11th), Croatia (12th), Uruguay (14th) and the USA (18th).
Italy will be back in Nations League action in November for fixtures against Belgium and France, which could provide another opportunity to climb back up the FIFA rankings.