Why Lionel Messi's Argentina Trail Brazil In FIFA Rankings Even After Winning World Cup 2022?
Lionel Messi's Argentina trail Brazil in the latest FIFA rankings despite having won the FIFA World Cup and Copa America, here's why
After Lionel Messi led Argentina to lift the FIFA World Cup title in December last year, football enthusiasts might be quick to identify the best footballing nation in the globe. The football governing body, however, had a different story to tell. In the recently released Men’s FIFA World rankings, Argentina can be spotted trailing behind their South American rival Brazil, who was quite far from the title race in Qatar. While the Selecao are occupying the top place with 1840.77 points, Messi’s side is reeling at the second spot with 1838.38.
FIFA follows a certain process to calculate the points, which determine the positions of the countries in the standings. Teams receive and lose points based on the count of wins and losses. They can also earn extra points based on the opponent’s place in the tally. Although, the governing body made some modifications to the process in 2018, which are responsible for Argentina being positioned after Brazil.
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As per the previous rule, points were tallied over a specified length of time. But the fresh regulation mandates that points will simply be added to a team’s overall score. Brazil were leading the tally ahead of the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Argentina, even after taking home both of the trophies, failed to beat their neighbouring nation.
Following the Qatar World Cup, Brazil and Argentina were out of international matches for a prolonged period. They have finally returned to action in the ongoing international break of March. On Friday, La Albiceleste hosted Panana at their home for a friendly fixture. The Estadio Monumental got packed with Argentina fans, who gathered in numbers to watch Lionel Messi play in the Argentina shirt.
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While Thiago Almada scored the opening goal for the hosts, Messi did not disappoint the home fans as well. The captain converted a freekick with an iconic curvy delivery, scoring the team’s second goal of the match. Following Messi’s strike, Argentina won the match 2-0.
Meanwhile, Brazil are also gearing up for a friendly fixture and will travel to Morocco for the game. The blockbuster clash is slated to be held on March 26 at the Grand Stade de Tanger.
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