Zurich: Croatia made a big move to No. 4 in the FIFA rankings after two World Cup qualifying wins, and tournament hosts Brazil dropped to No. 19 on Thursday. World and European champions Spain led an unchanged top three, ahead of Germany and Argentina, after a busy month of World Cup qualifying.
Croatia's victories over Serbia and Wales lifted them five places, and No. 5 Portugal climbed two spots. Colombia remained No. 6, followed by England and Italy, who both fell three places, and the Netherlands. Ecuador entered the top 10 for the first time, rising one place, and No. 12 Ivory Coast is the top-ranked African team.
Mexico are up one to No. 14 and the United States rose five place to No. 28. The CONCACAF rivals drew 0-0 in Mexico City last month. Rankings weigh results over a four-year cycle and Brazil, who fell one place, have dropped while playing no World Cup qualifiers. The five-time world champions drew with Italy and No. 11 Russia last month.
Japan head the Asian confederation nations at No. 29, a fall of three places. Rising in the top 50 were Peru (No. 32, up nine); Ukraine (No. 37, up 11); Albania (No. 48, up 16); and Wales (No. 49, up 22)....
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02:05 PM, Apr 11, 2013
Croatia beat Serbia 2-0 whereas Germany, playing without any recognised strikers, triumphed 3-0 in Kazakhstan. ...
05:33 AM, Mar 23, 2013
The Serbians have nothing to lose when they visit bitter Balkan rivals Croatia in a World Cup Group A qualifier on March 22 and raucous fan support can only put pressure on the home side, Serbia right back Branislav Ivanovic said. ...
06:17 PM, Mar 14, 2013
Modric's mediocre season at Real has raised doubts about his international place but Croatia coach Stimac says the midfielder will again be his driving force in this month's WC qualifying matches. ...
06:56 PM, Mar 07, 2013
Steve Jobs had the genius to turn a product launch-even an upgrade-into an occasion that sent Apple fans into fits of ecstasy. If there's one product that they have been looking forward to more than any other, it's Apple TV. No one knows if or how it will be disruptive. But the launch is likely to happen in 2013. It will also be the first product in a new category...
03:56 PM, Jan 05, 2013
Moscow: Russia moved into the top-10-ranked football nations this month, FIFA announced on Wednesday. Fabio Capello's team rose three places from 12th to ninth on the back of 1-0 victories over Portugal and Azerbaijan in last month's World Cup qualifiers. World and European champions Spain remain cemented to first place, followed by Germany in second and Argentina, who moved to third following wins over Uruguay and Chile. Portugal were edged...
05:28 PM, Nov 07, 2012
Paris: Serbia could face tough sanctions from UEFA's disciplinary committee after racism again marred a football game in the country last week, president Michel Platini said on Tuesday. England Under-21 defender Danny Rose complained after a Euro qualifier in Serbia last week that he had been racially abused and the British government demanded serious punishment against Serbia. "Over a year ago we gave Croatia and Serbia a serious yellow card,...
10:25 PM, Oct 23, 2012
London: Croatia won its first Olympic gold in men's water polo, getting two second-half goals each from Miho Boskovic and Maro Jokovic to pull away from Italy for an 8-6 win on Sunday. With two of the best defenses and goalkeepers in the tournament, the final was a bitter defensive struggle. Croatia eventually grabbed control of the match early in the second half after Boskovic slotted home from long distance...
10:28 PM, Aug 12, 2012
London: Croatian waiter Giovanni Cernogoraz overcame tears and Italy's Massimo Fabbrizi in a shootoff to win the men's trap on Monday to close the London Games shooting competition in dramatic fashion. Both men had finished locked on 146 targets out of 150 and Cernogoraz was seen in tears after he ensured Croatia's second Olympic shooting medal following the bronze won by Snjezana Pejcic at the Beijing Games. He had time...
01:50 AM, Aug 07, 2012
Croatia's Ivo Karlovic called Wimbledon's credibility into question and accused line judges of bias after he was foot-faulted "11 times" in his second-round defeat by Andy Murray on Thursday. The big-serving Croat lost 7-5 6-7 6-2 7-6 to the British fourth seed, but was unhappy with the way officials persistently penalised him for foot-faulting in a tight match on Centre Court. Karlovic said the officials were influenced by the fact...
12:22 PM, Jun 29, 2012
London: Andy Murray will have to dodge "bombs" and watch a lot of balls whistle past his ears when he comes face to face with the tallest man in tennis in his second-round match at Wimbledon on Thursday. Man mountain Ivo Karlovic, who caused one of the biggest Wimbledon upsets when he beat champion Lleyton Hewitt in the first round in 2003, would like nothing better than to dash the...
03:49 PM, Jun 28, 2012
Donetsk: From the moment Poland's Robert Lewandowski scored the opening goal of the tournament with a brilliant header against Greece, Euro 2012 has served up one great moment after another during a thrilling group stage. Superb goals have followed, including Mario Balotelli's volley against Ireland, German Mario Gomez's first strike against the Netherlands and Jakub Blaszczykowski's stunning equaliser for Poland against Russia. The quality remained until the end with Zlatan...
10:12 AM, Jun 20, 2012
CNN-IBN's football experts rank Spain far from their best despite having reached the quarter-finals. ...
10:59 AM, Jun 19, 2012
Gdansk: Croatia is out, and so is Slaven Bilic. The Croatia coach, who had already said he would be leaving the national team to take over at Lokomotiv Moscow, ended his tenure Monday after a 1-0 loss to Spain in Group C of the European Championship. The 43-year-old Bilic, who played for the Croatia team that reached the 1998 World Cup semi-finals, said he did not expect to be leaving...
10:24 AM, Jun 19, 2012
Warka (Poland): Even with Ivica Olic out injured, Croatia got off to a striking start at the European Championship. The Croats got two goals from Mario Mandzukic and one from Nikica Jelavic in their 3-1 win over Ireland in Group C. That's more than Spain and Italy combined after their 1-1 draw in the other group match. "If you don't have a striker who can score a goal, you have...
08:41 PM, Jun 11, 2012
Poznan: Croatia coach Slaven Bilic could be forced to reshuffle his attack ahead of their Euro 2012 opener against Republic of Ireland as striker Ivica Olic is in doubt for the tournament due to injury. The departing Bayern Munich forward sustained a thigh problem in the friendly draw against Norway at the weekend, and it remains to be seen whether the Wolfsburg-bound player will be match fit in time for...
02:49 PM, Jun 04, 2012
Their squad may lack in quality and depth as compared to their more formidable group opponents, but Croatia will certainly not be short of motivation at Euro 2012. The tournament will be the last for the coach Slaven Bilic, who has agreed to take over at Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow following the European Championship. With the popular Bilic having overseen one of the most successful periods for the national team...
11:34 AM, Jun 03, 2012
Gerrard, Lampard and Rooney bring fantasy football to Wembley. ...
10:19 PM, Sep 10, 2009
England, Brazil and Argentina will be in action in World Cup qualifiers. ...
12:07 AM, Sep 09, 2009
