New FIFA Rankings Released

Lots of changes in this month's FIFA rankings, but Spain still maintains its stranglehold on the top spot. Germany and the Netherlands switch spots at number 2 and 3 while Uruguay and England hold steady at 4 and 5. The rest of the top 10 was shaken up with Portugal overtaking Brazil at number 6, Italy moving ahead of Croatia at number 8 and Denmark knocking Argentina out of the Top 10 for the first time since 2004.

Photo Credit: football-pictures.net

Africa saw the biggest shake-up this month following the African Cup of Nations. Tournament champion Zambia jumped 28 spots to number 43 while Mali, who finished third in the tournament moved up 25 spots to number 44. Still, they weren't even the biggest movers as Gabon, who went unbeaten in group play before losing to Mali in the quarterfinals in a shootout, jumped 46 spots to number 45. Even frontrunners Ivory Coast and Ghana, who lost the championship and consolation game respectively, each moved up 3 spots to numbers 15 and 23.

Photo Credit: abc.net.au

Around the other confederations Australia (22) overtook Japan as the top team in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after Japan dropped 11 spots to number 30. New Zealand dropped two spots to number 120, but still holds a command lead over Samoa (151), the second highest ranked team in the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). And finally, the U.S. moved up 2 spots to number 31 following their wins over Venezuela and Panama, but Mexico is still the top team in the region at number 21.

Here's a look at the Top 20: