Sports

FIFA ranking: Belgium finish 2019 as best team, Nigeria maintain 31st position

Thursday, December 19, 2019 at 6:18 PM by Rahaman Abiola

FIFA ranking for December has seen Belgium finish as the best football country for an amazing second year in a row.

The European team booked the first spot again since taking over the place in December 2018 after an impressive outing in 19 friendlies through the year, but with 1082 international A matches since 1993.

Five-time World Cup winners Brazil are third on the ranking behind Russia 2018 champions France - both holding on to their places since 2018.

England and Uruguay capped the top five spots respectively with Argentina sealing the 9th spot and Colombia coming far into number 10.

Switzerland booked the 12th spot above Denmark who are 16th having slipped four and six places respectively over the course of the year.

FIFA World Cup 2022 hosts Qatar are named ‘Mover of the Year’ after their stellar engagement in sport activities.

The Arabian nation booked a year-high 38 spot, followed by fellow climbers Algeria (up 32 ranks) and Japan (up 22 ranks).

Read also

Nigerian star reaches big milestone, hailed as best midfielder in Premier League

On the other hand, Nigeria remain 31st in the latest ranking and are number three in Africa above AFCON 2019 champions Algeria who are 4th.

Senegal maintained the first spot in Africa and finished the year in 20th position in the world with Tunisia coming behind second in Africa and 27th in the world.

Morocco, Ghana, Egypt, Cameroon, Mali and DR Congo capped the first 10 in Africa.

PAY ATTENTION: Become a member of the leading sports Facebook group 'Naija Football Fan Zone

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Cristiano Ronaldo unleashed his incredible prodigy and shut down his critics with a brilliant 8ft 5in header to hand Juventus a vital 2-1 win over tough Sampdoria on Wednesday night, December 18.

The Portuguese, at 34, once again proved age is just a number when he rose into the air, hanged for seconds before blasting in a match-winning header into the net in the 45th minute.