ZURICH, Switzerland: Egypt improved to 29th from 35th in Fifa’s latest world ranking after successfully defending its African title.
There was plenty of movement lower down after the African Cup of Nations, with tournament host Ghana becoming the continent s highest ranked team by rising 29 places – the most of the 207 teams in the rankings – to 14th after reaching the semifinals.
In the rankings released Wednesday, runner-up Cameroon moved up eight spots to 17th and semifinalist Ivory Coast up 14 to 24th.
Argentina stayed atop the world rankings for the fifth straight month.With few matches played by the top teams over the past month, Greece s rise of one place to 10th was the only change in the top 10. Brazil, Italy, Spain and Germany rounded out the top five places, followed by the Czech Republic, France, Portugal, Netherlands and Greece.
Other than Argentina, Brazil and Ghana, the top 20 was filled out by European teams, with England rising one spot to 11th after beating Switzerland 2-1 in Fabio Capello s first match as manager.
Mexico stayed the highest ranked CONCACAF team at No. 16, 10 spots ahead of the United States, which dropped six places after losing some of its older ranking points.
The next world rankings will be released March 12. – AP
