FIFA updates the national team’s world rankings following the 2022 World Cup. Despite winning the 2022 World Cup, Argentina saw a justifiable increase in their position in FIFA’s updated men’s world rankings but failed to overtake Brazil for the top slot.

Argentina climbed into second place a day after defeating France in a thrilling World Cup final in Qatar, while rival South American nation Brazil remained in first place despite Selecao’s elimination from the tournament in the quarterfinals. World Cup finalist France moved up one place to third.

Argentina or France would’ve usurped Brazil had Sunday’s finale been decided within the allotted 120 minutes of playing time.

But since shootout victories are worth fewer points than a regulation win, according to FIFA’s calculation, Brazil’s place atop the rankings was assured when extra time was over at Lusail Stadium in Doha.

While Argentina won four games in regulation and two on penalties after losing its opening match to Saudi Arabia, Brazil won three matches in Qatar before losing to Croatia on penalties.

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While all was going on, the United States moved up three spots to 13th place, passing Mexico as the highest-ranked CONCACAF country. While Canada lost the most ground, falling 12 spots to 53rd, Mexico is rated 15th.

Following an unexpected run to the World Cup semifinals, Morocco shot up the rankings. The Atlas Lions are now the highest-ranked team in Africa after moving up 11 spots to place 11. Following exceeding expectations in Qatar, Australia and Cameroon also experienced double-digit increases, moving up to positions 27 and 33, respectively.

Belgium, however, dropped two spots from second to fourth after failing to advance through the group stage. The Red Devils are in front of sixth-placed Netherlands and fifth-placed England.

Top 20 rankings:

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Former Chelsea player Didier Drogba believes France has a key “advantage” over Argentina ahead of the World Cup final in Qatar.

On Sunday, France will take on Argentina at the Lusail Stadium in an effort to retain the World Cup title for the first time in 60 years.

The team led Group D and defeated Poland, England, and Morocco to advance to the knockout rounds under Didier Deschamps.

Argentina won Group C despite an unexpected loss to Saudi Arabia in the opening match and defeated Australia, Netherlands, and Croatia on their way to a sixth World Cup final.

In Lionel Messi’s final World Cup, Argentina will try to win the trophy a third time, while France will try to become just the third team to successfully defend the title.

With eleven members of France’s 2018 team and World Cup-winning manager Deschamps participating in Qatar, Drogba believes that France has an “edge” over Argentina due to their previous experience of not just reaching but also winning the final.

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‘France do have the advantage of being in the final and winning it four years ago,’ the former Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker told BBC Sport.

‘You know how to handle the pressure, you’ve been there, but they have new players and it will be new for them.

‘It might be the first time some of them have played against Lionel Messi as well. The pressure will be there. This France team are very, very competitive, especially with Didier Deschamps as their manager. They want to win it back-to-back.

‘Argentina will know that the French team don’t like to receive a lot of knocks. Argentina are really aggressive and they won’t let Kylian Mbappe face the game.

‘They will try and block him because they know he is the main man. It is going to be difficult for them to handle Tchouameni, Griezmann and even Dembele.

‘We don’t talk about Dembele I think he has been helping Jules Kounde a lot. He has been working really hard.’

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Netherlands and Argentina square off in a tantalising World Cup 2022 quarterfinal that is sure to feature goals on Friday night at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.

The South American champions defeated Australia 2-1 to maintain their chances of winning the tournament while Louis van Gaal’s team defeated the USA 3-1 to secure their place in the round of eight.

Before facing the Netherlands in their World Cup quarterfinal, Argentina is concerned about Rodrigo De Paul’s fitness. Argentina started the competition by losing to the World Cup’s second-lowest-ranked country (Saudi Arabia), but they have gotten better with each match since, displaying flashes of the confidence that let them go 36 games without a loss before facing Australia in the round of 16.

• Team News:

The Netherlands had a scare with Jeremie Frimpong (ankle) before the win against the USA, but he was part of a fully-fit squad for that game, and Van Gaal should have everyone available for the quarter-final as well.

Centre back for Inter Milan Due to pain, Stefan de Vrij was unable to train on Sunday, but he has since rejoined the squad to contest the existing hierarchy of Nathan Ake, Virgil van Dijk, and Jurrien Timber, even though he will probably be losing that fight.

In his last 30 appearances for the Netherlands, Depay has scored 24 goals and provided 10 assists. The Barcelona forward should once again team up with Gakpo in an untried Dutch starting lineup.

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Regarding Argentina, Sevilla attacker Papu Gomez is questionable for the match after leaving with a sprained ankle against Australia in the 50th minute. However, Angel Di Maria is making progress in his recovery from a quadriceps injury and should be able to take the place of his injured teammate.

In spite of relentless pressure from Lisandro Martinez, Scaloni has no other injury concerns and continues to have faith in the centre-back combination of Cristian Romero and Nicolas Otamendi.

Leandro Paredes and Angel Correa, for example, were put to the test earlier this week in a training ground XI, but neither player will be expected to beat off Di Maria or the promising Enzo Fernandez for a starting position in the quarterfinal.

• Possible Lineup:

Netherlands possible starting lineup:
Noppert; Timber, Van Dijk, Ake; Dumfries, De Jong, De Roon, Blind; Klaassen; Gakpo, Depay

Argentina’s possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Acuna; Fernandez, De Paul, Mac Allister; Di Maria, Messi, Alvarez

• Score Prediction:

Prediction: Netherlands 1-1 Argentina.

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FIFA rejected France’s appeal about the outcome of their World Cup match versus Tunisia.

The protest was filed following their last group match against Tunisia, which the North African team won 1-0 on the strength of a goal from Wahbi Khazri.

It was a game that ended in controversy, though, with substitute Antoine Griezmann believing he had scored an equaliser in the 99th minute.

A long delay followed, and the referee allowed Tunisia to kick off again, only for VAR to intervene and disallow the goal for offside.

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That incensed the French and they lodged an appeal, claiming a breach in VAR protocol had occurred in disallowing a goal after play had restarted with a kick-off.

The French Football Federation (FFF) asked FIFA to allow the goal and have the result changed to a 1-1 draw, but it has been rejected out of hand.

“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has dismissed the protest submitted by the French Football Association in relation to the Tunisia v. France FIFA World Cup match played on 30 November,” a short FIFA statement read.

Despite the fact that the episode sparked debate, it had little effect on the group. France advanced as group champions, while Tunisia was eliminated from the competition.

The outcome had no bearing on Australia or Denmark, with the Socceroos finishing second and qualifying for the last 16. On Saturday evening, they were defeated 2-1 by Argentina.

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On a thrilling day of competition in Qatar on Monday, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and five-time winners Brazil joined France in the World Cup knockout rounds with a game remaining.

Only three teams have secured spots in the quadrennial competition’s knockout rounds.

After two victories in two games, only Portugal, Brazil, and France remain in the running for the knockout rounds. Their final group match will determine their fate while we wait for other countries to advance to the round of 16.

The World Cup’s build-up was clouded by controversy, but since then, the excitement, joy, and celebration felt during the competition have exceeded all expectations. In addition, we have come this far with dark horses pulling big upsets during the competition.

Although Spain, Argentina, Germany, and England are among the favourites in this tournament, they have thus far played well, and their individual matchups will determine their fate.

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Brazil, Portugal, and France, the remaining contenders, have already advanced to the elimination round.

The group elimination curse, which affects every reigning champion that fails to advance past the group stages at the following World Cup, was broken by France, the first country to do so, and France showed steadfastness in doing so.

France defeated Australia 4-1 in their opening group match, and they then defeated Denmark 2-1. Brazil fought hard to defeat Switzerland 1-0 to complete a 2-0 victory.

Meanwhile, Portugal, followed a similar scenario, winning 3-2 against Ghana and handily defeating Uruguay by a score of 2-0.

All three countries now have a chance to get to the quarterfinals without having to face any formidable opponents. The losers of Group G will play Portugal.

The second-place team from Group H, which might be Uruguay, Ghana, or South Korea, will play Brazil. The Group C runners-up, which might be Poland, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, or Argentina, will oppose France.

All group games will be played at the same time tomorrow, which will signal the start of the Round of 16. Players from France, Portugal, and Brazil will undoubtedly take a break, and the Round of 16 will now take centre stage.

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While praising Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi’s World Cup performances, England’s Jack Grealish named Brazil as the World Cup standout squad in Qatar.

Of the 24 teams who have played two group games, only World Cup holders France have taken the maximum points.

The 2022 campaign of Didier Deschamps’ team got off to a rout against Australia, while Mbappe’s magnificent double helped them defeat Denmark.

Mbappe scored twice against Denmark to bring his tally to 31 goals in international play, 20 goals shy of Olivier Giroud and Thierry Henry’s 51-goal total from four years ago in Russia.

Argentina, however, lost shockingly to Saudi Arabia in their tournament opener and was aware that a loss to Mexico on Saturday would have meant elimination.

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At the Lusail Stadium, Messi once again worked his magic to break the tie and put Argentina on the road to a crucial victory after a tense opening hour.

After his heroics against Mexico, Grealish called Messi “unbelievable,” but the Manchester City player still thinks Brazil, Argentina’s South American opponents, are the favorite in Qatar.

Brazil will look to make it two wins from two when they face Switzerland on Monday, having beaten Serbia last time out.

Asked to assess some of England’s biggest rivals in Qatar, Grealish told talkSPORT: ‘I watch all the games to be honest. We have screens all over the place at the hotel and it’s just nice to have games on all day.

‘I was watching Messi [against Mexico], unbelievable. He just showed what he’s about in that second half but then again so did Mbappe.

‘I think there are lots of brilliant teams, some teams have that one player who’s just unstoppable but I think Brazil are one of the most impressive I’ve seen so far.

‘They have so much talent, especially in those attacking areas. If you’re asking me who the biggest threat is, I’d probably say Brazil.’

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On Saturday, Kylian Mbappe scored twice as defending champions France defeated Denmark 2-1 to advance as the first team to the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar.

After a deft one-two with teammate Theo Hernandez, Mbappe gave France the lead in the Group D match just after the hour mark with a prodded finish. However, Denmark fought back with a thunderous header from defender Andreas Christensen to tie the game.

A late cross from Antoine Griezmann was converted by the Paris Saint-Germain striker, ensuring France’s perfect record as they continue their World Cup championship defence. As of right now, Mbappe is tied with French superstar Zinedine Zidane for the most goals ever scored in the nation with 31 goals.

Following the outcome on Saturday, France now leads Group D with six points, three more than second-place Australia, while Denmark is yet to record a victory with just a point after two games.

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France had the better chances in a tight, tense first half as Adrien Rabiot came close with a header and the Danes were pushed into several last-ditch blocks to preserve their clean sheet.

Mbappe gave the French the lead in the 61st minute by capping an excellent high-speed French attack with a bouncing first-time goal off Hernandez’s deft pull-back.

Seven minutes later, Christensen, who is always a threat from set pieces, brought the Danes even by sneaking in behind the defence and stooping to head the ball home.

In the 80th minute, Rabiot launched a spectacular volley over but neither team appeared content with a draw. A minute later, substitute Martin Braithwaite launched a first-time effort of his own but it went just wide of the near post.

When Mbappe came up at the far post in the 86th minute to deflect a close-range Griezmann cross to restore the lead and send the visiting French fans into raptures, it appeared as though the game might end in a tie.

In an effort to score a second equalizer, Denmark threw everything forward, leaving a ton of space at the back. However, their late attempts against a team they had previously defeated twice in the Nations League were ineffective, and the French held on to win and advance.

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When the defending world champions France resumes Group D responsibilities against Denmark at Stadium 974 on Saturday night, they can guarantee a spot in the final rounds of the 2022 World Cup.

The French national team, led by Didier Deschamps, overcame a deficit against Australia on Tuesday night to begin their championship defence with a resounding victory.

For the second tournament in a row, Denmark was held to the first 0-0 draw of the World Cup. While Tunisia took a share of the spoils earlier in the week, France was on the other side of the stalemate in 2018.

• Team News:

Before Deschamps selected his team, after Deschamps selected his squad, and again during their World Cup journey, France have been beset by injuries. On Tuesday, left-back Lucas Hernandez tore his anterior cruciate ligament during the buildup to Australia’s goal by Goodwin.

The Bayern Munich player will not be participating in the remainder of the World Cup as he prepares for months of recovery. Instead, he will hand the ball to his brother Theo Hernandez, who performed admirably after taking over for his injured cousin.

Due to a hip injury, Deschamps was also without Kingsley Coman in Friday’s training session, but Raphael Varane was deemed healthy enough to play against the Socceroos in lieu of Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate at the back.

Upamecano and Konate won’t feel as though they deserved to lose their positions, but a fully healthy Varane will undoubtedly be given consideration, and the unfortunate Liverpool player may be the one to withdraw.

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Similar circumstances to Hernandez’s have befallen Denmark, as Sevilla midfielder Thomas Delaney, who was substituted against Tunisia at halftime due to a knee injury, has also been forced to withdraw from the competition in order to rehabilitate for a month.

Other than Delaney’s injury, Hjulmand has no new worries heading into Saturday’s game. As a result, he should think about moving Eriksen and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg into a deeper role, which would free up either Mikkel Damsgaard or Jesper Lindstrom to join the attack.

The 29-year-old Andreas Cornelius should only be considered for a substitute role here alongside the injured Yussuf Poulsen after producing one of the worst misses in World Cup history against Tunisia when he miraculously hit the post from a yard out.

• Possible Lineup:

France’s possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud

Denmark’s possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Andersen, Christensen, Kjaer; Kristensen, Hojbjerg, Eriksen, Maehle; Skov Olsen, Dolberg, Damsgaard

• Score prediction:

Denmark ought to be the overwhelming favourite to defeat a team they vanquished in Copenhagen and Paris based only on the results of this year’s Nations League. However, focusing only on their two most recent meetings would be misleadingly partial.

In the group game, the defending champions are the favourites, especially if they can duplicate the electrifying swagger of their second half against Australia.

Kasper Hjulmand, the manager of Denmark, is juggling more important choices than his preferred defensive alignment.

Any outcome against France will leave those competing interests in place.

Prediction: France 2-1 Denmark

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Hugo Lloris, the captain of France, praised Olivier Giroud and referred to him as “an inspiration to never give up.”

Giroud scored a brace as France defeated Australia 4-1 to start their World Cup defence, becoming the team’s all-time leading scorer alongside Thierry Henry.

If Karim Benzema’s pre-tournament injury hadn’t occurred, the Milan striker might not have even started the match. Lloris is pleased to see that his unwavering persistence has paid off.

“I think Olivier Giroud deserved a lot of credit,” Lloris said after the match. “He is an example of football to never give up.

“The last few months he was in and he was out but he never lost focus and it is important. It is a big achievement to equal Thierry Henry and I hope he will go ahead. For all the team it is a good start and for the striker two goals is great.”

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Particularly in the first half when Australia unexpectedly took the lead early, France had to battle hard for victory.

Lloris, though, says the fact France were able to come back so strongly is a testament to their character.

“I think we have got the credit of a good reaction and we stepped up and started to control the game, he said. “We can be pleased with the performance but we know we have to improve game by game.

“The key was to stay cool after going behind. We have a lot of young players but we have some with experience so we have a good mix and we can feel it on the pitch.

“It is one very good step into this World Cup and now we are going to focus on preparing for Denmark.”

France will face Denmark in their second game before ending the World Cup group stage against Tunisia.

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After scoring twice in France’s victory over Australia, Olivier Giroud tied Thierry Henry for second place on the list of the nation’s all-time leading scorers.

The 36-year-old scored his 50th and 51st goals for Les Bleus as they won in a comeback to start their 2022 World Cup group stage campaign.

After Adrien Rabiot grabbed the ball from Nathaniel Atkinson and squared for the Milan striker, Giroud tapped in France’s second goal of the game.

Giroud equalized Henry’s record with a spectacular header from a Kylian Mbappe cross after missing an incredible overhead kick in the second half.

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On his 115th appearance for France, Giroud tied a record with a brace, moving him up to fifth place all-time. To move into the top three, he has to earn eight more caps; Henry is now third with 123.

Giroud made his France debut in 2011 while representing Montpellier in Ligue 1, and ever since, he has cemented his place in national mythology.

His selfless effort helped France win the 2018 World Cup, and he has exceptional on-pitch chemistry with fellow attackers Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.

Before Karim Benzema withdrew from the competition due to injury, Giroud was scheduled to begin the 2022 season on the bench.

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After sustaining a knee injury during Tuesday night’s 4-1 victory over Australia, Lucas Hernandez has been ruled out of France’s World Cup campaign.

Australia took an early lead in the sixth minute, forcing Didier Deschamps’ team to come from behind. However, the defending World Cup holders went on to dominate the majority of the game with Olivier Giroud netting a double, while Adrien Rabiot and Kylian Mbappe also struck.

Hernandez’s forced departure from the game with a knee injury came in the 13th minute, dealing France a setback. His younger brother Theo, an AC Milan defender, took over the defensive position for the Bayern Munich defender.

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Following an MRI exam, Hernandez was found to have anterior cruciate ligament damage, which has caused him to miss the remainder of France’s campaign in Qatar.

‘Like the whole group, players and staff, I am extremely sorry for Lucas,’ Deschamps said.

‘We are losing an important element. Lucas is a warrior and I have no doubt that he will do everything possible to return to the game. first plan.

‘I know him well, courage, he will have it, that’s for sure. On behalf of the group, I wish him the best possible recovery.’

France plays Denmark in their next match in Group D on Friday before facing Tunisia next Wednesday.

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In their Group D World Cup opener at the Education City Stadium, Tunisia held Denmark to a scoreless draw that will not stick in the memory for very long.

After having a heart arrest at Euro 2020, Christian Eriksen returned to a big tournament 18 months later, but his Denmark team was held to a discouraging 0-0 draw by Tunisia in Group D due to some late VAR controversy.

Issam Jebali had a goal disallowed for offside in the 23rd minute, but Denmark played the majority of the attacking game in the first half amid the loud noise produced by the thousands of Tunisian fans in the stands.

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The Danes upped the tempo in the second, with Christian Eriksen firing a rasping left-foot shot that was saved by goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen in the 69th minute, and Andreas Cornelius hit the post with a header from the resulting corner.

Ten minutes after the half, Andreas Skov Olsen’s goal for Denmark was disallowed. In stoppage time, referee Cesar Ramos decided not to award a penalty after consulting the VAR monitor in response to a possible handball by Tunisia’s Yassine Meriah.

As the Danes tried to break them down, Tunisia defended staunchly and threatened on the break. In the end, their fans were thrilled with a point that prepares them for their next match against Australia, while Denmark faces France.

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