, Egypt , which just won the African Cup of Nations for a second straight time , is ranked 29th , fourth best among African teams . '' Do you think FIFA 's rankings count for much ? Let us know in the Sound Off box below . For example , France , who reached the World Cup final in 2006 are down in 12th , while England , who failed to even qualify for Euro 2008 , are ninth . Furthermore , Les Bleus were at their lowest-ever standing in the rankings in April 1998 , when they were down in 25th . Three months later , they lifted the World Cup . From 2001-06 , Mexico were anchored in the top 10 , at one point as high as fourth , which left many European fans wondering how that was possible . They were ahead of many a supposed European powerhouse , such as Portugal . Not only did the Iberian country reach the final of Euro 2004 , they also made the semi-finals of the World Cup in Germany two years later . Mexico were even in the same group as Portugal at the World Cup and
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Spain remain top of the world rankings for the ninth straight month , according to newly released standings by FIFA , the world game 's governing body . European champions Spain are ranked No. 1 by FIFA in their world rankings . The European champions have not lost a game since going down 1-0 in a friendly to Romania in Cadiz in November 2006 . They top their 2010 World Cup qualifying group , with four wins from four games , and have only conceded one goal in their last 10 internationals . No team can compete with that record and Spain are placed at No. 1 for that reason . Their rankings are based on team performances over the last four years , with more recent results and more significant matches being more heavily weighted to help reflect the current competitive state of a team . Yet fans all over the world have long questioned how much can be read into the rankings . After the 2008 African Cup of Nations , US-based football columnist Ives Galarcep wrote : `` Do n't try making any sense of these rankings . After all