WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao has retained its 82nd position in the latest FIFA World Ranking following the nation's historic first appearance at the FIFA World Cup.
Despite earning additional ranking points during the tournament, the national team neither climbed nor dropped in the standings compared to the rankings published before the World Cup.
Curaçao gained valuable points from its goalless draw against higher-ranked Ecuador, while defeats to Germany and Ivory Coast offset those gains. As a result, the team's overall points total changed, but its position in the global rankings remained unchanged.
The Blue Wave continues to rank ahead of fellow World Cup participants New Zealand and Haiti, which are now 86th and 88th, respectively. Cape Verde, another of the tournament's lower-ranked teams, made the biggest improvement among that group by climbing three places to 64th.
At the top of the rankings, newly crowned world champion Spain has overtaken Argentina to claim the No. 1 spot after defeating the South Americans in the World Cup final. Argentina drops to second place, while France remains third.
Norway recorded one of the most significant moves among the tournament's top-ranked participants, climbing 12 places to 19th following its World Cup campaign.
Although Curaçao's ranking remains unchanged, maintaining its position after competing on football's biggest stage is another milestone for the Caribbean nation, which became the smallest country ever to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.