Brazil will head into the 2022 FIFA World Cup as the top-ranked nation after extending their lead over second-placed Belgium.
The South American giants are among the favorites to win the tournament in Qatar, which would be their record-breaking sixth crown.
Tite’s side are also aiming to become the first non-European nation to win the World Cup since they won it in 2002 in South Korea and Japan.
Brazil won their two friendlies against Ghana and Tunisia, while second-placed Belgium lost to the Netherlands in the Nations League. Their arch-rivals Argentina are third in the rankings after extending their unbeaten run of games to 34 in the recent international break.
Current world champions France are fourth on the list, one place above England. Gareth Southgate’s side remain in fifth despite not winning in six matches. European champions Italy, who failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, rose to sixth place.
Spain fell one place to seventh in the rankings, while European heavyweights Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark make up the rest of the Top 10. FIFA World Cup hosts Qatar are ranked 50th heading into their first edition of the competition. Ghana ranks the lowest out of this year’s qualified nations at 61st.
Brazil boss Tite accuses Tunisia of being overly aggressive toward Neymar in recent FIFA World Cup warm-up
The Samba Boys continued their excellent recent run as they thrashed Tunisia 5-1 in an ill-tempered friendly which saw the North African side receive a red card.
Neymar has enjoyed an incredible campaign so far. He netted a penalty against the African side to close in on the all-time Brazil goalscoring record. He is now at 75 goals, just three goals shy of breaking Pele’s record. His manager was far from impressed with the rough treatment Tunisia were showing toward the PSG star.
After the game, Tite told reporters that he was disgusted with Dylan Bronn’s challenge on Neymar, which saw him receive his marching orders. The Selecao manager proclaimed (as per GOAL):
“The game on the pitch, we knew he would be competitive, loyal, but I didn’t imagine the move that happened to Neymar. It’s a move to get players out of the World Cup.
“The competitive spirit doesn’t allow you to play a friendly that doesn’t have an emotional clash, so we wanted to prepare and we went to risk it, yes. But that’s what we decided to do.”
The game was also marred by a racist incident involving Brazil forward Richarlison, as well as laser pointers aimed at players from the crowd.
