The Croatian national football team is now ranked 18th in the world.
In the latest FIFA rankings which were published on Thursday, April 6, 2017, the Croatian national football team has dropped two places. Since the last FIFA rankings were released in March, the Croats have dropped from 16th to 18th place, reports HNS on April 6, 2017.
The national team played two games in March, receiving one win and one loss. The first, played at Maksimir stadium in Zagreb, was against Ukraine in the European qualifying match for World Cup 2018. A goal by Nikola Kalinić gave the Croats a 1-0 win.
Four days later, Croatia experienced an embarrassing defeat to Estonia in a friendly match played in Tallinn. Many of Croatia’s top national team players were not included in the match, resulting in a 3-0 loss.
Where do Croatia’s rivals in the European qualifiers for World Cup 2018 rank?
Iceland has moved up two places to 21st, Turkey has advanced four places to 22nd, Ukraine has dropped six places to 37th, Finland has climbed two places to 97th, and Kosovo is currently in 170th place.
Thanks to victories over Uruguay and Paraguay in the South American qualifiers for World Cup 2018, Brazil now claims the number one position in the FIFA rankings. This is the first time Brazil has reached this magic number in seven years.
FIFA will announce their next world rankings on May 4, 2017.
