FIFA World Rankings September 2021: Top 10 Nations

#7 Portugal | Points: 1675

Belgium v Portugal - UEFA Euro 2020: Round of 16

Buoyed by the individual brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo and a few other world-class players, Portugal have managed to climb a spot in the rankings. They managed to win all three of their matches in the month of September.

They the Republic of Ireland thanks to an incredible brace from Cristiano Ronaldo in the dying embers of the game. Ronaldo moved ahead of Iran's Ali Daei to become the top scorer in men's international football and now has 111 goals to his name for Portugal.

They subsequently beat Qatar 3-1 in a friendly before beating Azerbaijan 3-1 in a FIFA World Cup Qualifier. Portugal gained 14 points in September to climb from eighth to seventh.

#6 Argentina | Points: 1725

Argentina v Bolivia - FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar Qualifier

Argentina ended their 28-year drought in the Copa America by winning the title thanks to some Lionel Messi brilliance this past summer. It was also Messi's first major trophy in the international circuit.

La Albiceleste have maintained their place in the FIFA Rankings after gaining 14 points in the month of September. Their FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Brazil was dramatically suspended after 10 minutes of play due to a breach of Covid-19 protocols.

On either side of that, Argentina beat Venezuela and Bolivia with a Lionel Messi hat-trick making the win against the latter a memorable outing.

#5 Italy | Points: 1735

Italy v Lithuania - 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier

Italy's unbeaten streak has stretched to 37 games. But they've had a rather underwhelming month of September. The Azzurri have lost nine points since August but remain fifth in the FIFA Rankings table.

Italy settled for draws against Bulgaria and Switzerland in a weak follow-up to their triumphant run at Euro 2020. But they thumped Lithuania 5-0 in their latest outing and are still sitting atop Group C in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Italy are a complete team with an adequate amount of experience and youth in their ranks. They've also become a sturdy unit under Roberto Mancini and will be looking to keep their unbeaten streak in tact in the coming months.

#4 France | Points: 1754

France v Switzerland - UEFA Euro 2020: Round of 16

France have also dropped a place after losing seven points from their tally in the last month. They turned in a couple of extremely underwhelming performances, collecting two draws and one win in three FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

France were held to a 1-1 draw by Bosnia and Herzegovina before they settled for another 1-1 draw against Ukraine. They bounced back to beat Finalnd 2-0 and are still leaders of Group D in the World Cup Qualifiers.

Finland are the only side to have registered a single win apart from France in Group D after five rounds of matches.