The Croatia national football team is currently the No. 4 team in the world, thanks to their silver medal at the World Cup in Russia this summer.
The International Football Federation announced the latest ranking of the world's finest teams on Thursday, which, following the World Cup final this summer, uses a new model, announces HNS on August 16, 2018.
With the approval of the FIFA Council, the new calculation system is based primarily on adding and subtracting points to the previous number of points instead of calculating the average score over a given period of time. Points added or subtracted are determined according to the relative strength of both rivals, including the expectation that better-performing teams should achieve better results against lower-ranked teams, with the emphasis being placed on the importance of the finals of major competitions or the smaller importance of friendly matches.
A detailed explanation of the new FIFA calculation is provided on its official website.
Because of the new formula and after winning the silver medal in Russia, Zlatko Dalić's squad is currently the fourth best national team in the world. At the very top are the world champions France, and with only three points behind them is the World Cup bronze winners Belgium. Third place is secured by Brazil, followed by Croatia Uruguay, England, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, and Denmark.
FIFA Ranking:
1. France 1726
2. Belgium 1723
3. Brazil 1657
4. Croatia 1643
5. Uruguay 1627
6. England 1615
7. Portugal 1599
8. Switzerland 1597
9. Spain 1580
10. Denmark 1580
To refresh your memory of Croatia’s stellar World Cup run, the Vatreni first overcame Nigeria, Argentina, and Iceland in the group stage, conquered Denmark in penalties, followed by the host Russia, and in the semifinal, they sent home England in extra time. In the World Cup final, Croatia fell to France 2:4.
The September FIFA ranking will be released after the first matches in the new Nation League.
