Portugal have jumped up a spot into fourth place of the FIFA World Rankings, in the latest list published on Thursday.
World champions Spain remain atop the rankings, although many of their potenital challengers in 2014 have gained ground.
Vicente del Bosque s men lead the way ahead of Germany and Argentina in an unchanged top three, but Iberian neighbours Portugal have leapfrogged Colombia into fourth.
Switzerland are up two places to sixth despite not playing a game since November, while FIFA World Cup hosts Brazil have risen to ninth.
Denmark are among the biggest movers, jumping from 25 to 20, and France are up two spots to joint 18th with Ukraine, who Didier Deschamps side beat in a play-off in November to qualify for the World Cup.
Bosnia-Herzegovina …
Christian Eriksen and Mesut Ozil are the creative lynchpins for Tottenham and Arsenal, but they head into Sunday s north London derby after starkly contrasting Premier League weekends.
While Denmark international Eriksen played a starring role in Spurs brilliant 3-1 victory over Chelsea by creating seven chances, two of which ended in assists for Dele Alli and Harry Kane, Ozil was an unused substitute as Arsenal overcame Bournemouth 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium.
The former Germany star has struggled to ingratiate himself to new boss Unai Emery, whereas Eriksen continues to go from strength to strength in Mauricio Pochettino s team.
We use Opta data to analyse the productivity of each playmaker as Ozil appears to find himself marginalised by Emery.
Barcelona will be the best option for in-demand Ajax star Frenkie de Jong, according to the midfielder s father.
The 21-year-old is one of Europe s most highly rated young midfielders having impressed with Ajax over the last few years.
He broke into the Ajax first team last season after previously catching the eye for the club s second string in 2016-17, and he has continued to progress, becoming a full Netherlands international this year.
De Jong has been particularly outstanding in his country s Nations League campaign and he produced an exceptionally mature performance against world champions France in a 2-0 win last month.
Frenkie being Frenkie
ALL HIGHLIGHTS
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax)
Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester…
Mikel Arteta is still demanding more improvements as Arsenal continue their recovery from a poor start to the season and prepare to face Crystal Palace.
The Gunners were winless in their first three Premier League games but responded by winning their next three before a draw with Brighton and Hove Albion took them to five games unbeaten in all competitions.
Initial calls for Arteta s sacking have somewhat faded away, at least temporarily, as Arsenal look to defeat the Eagles for just the second time in seven top-flight meetings between the pair.
Arteta, who was named September s Premier League Manager of the Month, has been impressed in the upturn in form but still wants more from his side as the domestic season returns.
We managed to turn things aroun…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted that he made a couple of bad decisions as Manchester United slipped to a 4-2 defeat against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
The loss saw United s 29-game unbeaten away run in the Premier League come to an end, and the Red Devils have managed just one point from their last three league games.
Solskjaer s men took the lead, but they were then overhauled and conceded a third goal less than a minute after pulling level again, before a stoppage-time goal for the Foxes sealed the result.
The Norwegian manager was unhappy with the manner of the goals his side shipped, but he shouldered the responsibility for the result which means United have won just once in their last five games across all competitions, losing three.
W…
England manager Roy Hodgson is fearful the weight of expectation may get the better of his players at the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
Hodgson s side have been placed alongside Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica in Group D in Brazil.
England were eliminated in the first knockout round at the 2010 World Cup, and Hodgson is fearful that his players may be affected by external pressure.
There s a lot of pressure from family and friends, those type of things, said Hodgson, who will name his initial 30-man squad on May 12.
My biggest fear is we ll come away from the World Cup knowing that if we d just been a bit more relaxed and our minds were a bit more free we could ve done a bit better.
The fear is that the pressure gets on top of the players and we aren t able to ge…
Newcastle United midfielder Dan Gosling is to join Championship side Bournemouth when his contract expires at the end of June.
The former Everton man has struggled to nail down a regular starting place at St James Park since arriving as one of club s first signings on their return to the top flight in 2010.
Having been signed by Chris Hughton, he failed to stake a claim in the side under successor Alan Pardew and was loaned to Blackpool in October where he played 14 times, scoring twice.
Gosling, an England Under-21 international, will move to Dean Court on a four-year deal from July, subject to a medical, having been told his contract will not be renewed.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe explained the Championship club had to fight off plenty of competition but b…
Marco Asensio has revealed how tennis star Rafael Nadal helped to convince Real Madrid to sign him from Real Mallorca.
The 21-year-old completed a move to the LaLiga champions in 2015 and has established himself as a key part of Zinedine Zidane s plans this season, having spent last season on loan at Espanyol.
Asensio has claimed that 14-time major-winner Nadal – born in Mallorca and a lifelong Madrid fan – spoke to president Florentino Perez to ensure that the transfer went ahead.
That story is true, Asensio told Real Madrid TV. He called Florentino and told him to snap me up.
That winter [2014] my agent told me that Real Madrid were interested in me. Several clubs were calling and it was a bit hectic, but one day before a game Florentino call…
Carlo Ancelotti claims he would have become Manchester United manager in 2013 had an offer not already been on the table from Real Madrid.
Three-time Champions League winner Ancelotti will return to elite coaching next season when he succeeds Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich.
The former AC Milan, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss told the Times that Alex Ferguson met him for lunch in Paris as part of the search for his successor at Old Trafford.
[It was] a nice lunch. Alex chose the wine, really expensive.
[But] I had already spoken to Real Madrid. For the experience, a manager has to go to Madrid.
If it hadn t been for that, I would have come, 100 per cent.
David Moyes eventually stepped into the considerable void left by Ferguson an…
Alireza Jahanbakhsh stunned Chelsea with a late overhead-kick to earn Brighton and Hove Albion a hard-fought 1-1 draw on New Year s Day.
The Iran winger ended his long wait for a first Brighton goal against Bournemouth on Saturday, celebrating with joyful tears, and his second quickly followed in a stylish start to 2020.
Chelsea looked to be easing towards a third straight Premier League away win after Cesar Azpilicueta s early strike, failing to add to their lead but largely comfortable at the other end.
However, Jahanbakhsh leapt into an outstanding volley with six minutes of normal time remaining, and Frank Lampard s fourth-placed side were clinging on by full-time.
GOOOOOOAAAALLLL!
BRILLIANT, SIMPLY BRILLIANT! HE S DONE IT AGAIN!
Match…