Portugal climbed two places to fifth in the latest FIFA rankings on Wednesday, emerging as the only team in the top 10 to move upwards despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s mid-window departure from the national team camp.
Portugal won all four of their UEFA Nations League matches during the longest international window, beating Norway twice and Wales and Denmark once each. Those results also secured their place in the Nations League quarter-finals with two matches to spare.
The rise came during a turbulent period involving Ronaldo and new head coach Jorge Jesus.
Jesus left the 41-year-old on the bench against Norway and did not bring him on before telling him he would not start against Denmark. Ronaldo then left the camp, accusing the coach of breaking promises over his playing time.
Ronaldo later apologised to his teammates and supporters while accepting that he should face punishment for leaving.
“I owe an apology to my national team teammates for having left the camp,” Ronaldo said, while describing the decision as a response to the coach’s “broken word”.
Portugal nevertheless continued their winning run and moved from seventh to fifth in the FIFA rankings.
Their rise was unique among the world’s top 10. Brazil dropped one place to sixth and Morocco fell one to seventh after each drew a friendly during the window.
Spain remained top and extended their lead after winning their first four Nations League matches, including victories over England, Croatia twice and the Czech Republic.
Argentina stayed second after beating Benin 3-0 on Tuesday in Lionel Messi’s final international appearance. France and England retained third and fourth respectively.
Belgium remained eighth, while the Netherlands and Mexico completed the top 10 in ninth and 10th.
The United States stayed 16th despite winning all four of their matches, beating Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada.
Rwanda made the biggest climb, moving up nine places to 119th after beating Cape Verde 2-1 in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying.
Sierra Leone were the biggest fallers, dropping eight places to 130th after losing both of their qualifying matches.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings will be released on November 18.
