First place in the FIFA rankings for the Red Devils
After their somewhat bittersweet success in the World Cup, the Red Devils are currently participating in the first round of the Nations League tournament. Following their glorious 0-3 victory against Iceland, the Devils have again reached the top of the FIFA rankings, matching France in number of points. The Devils already held this rank between November 2015 and April 2016. At an individual level, FIFA rewarded Thibault Courtois and Eden Hazard.
After travelling to Iceland, the Belgian team joined Switzerland in leading Group 2 of the Nations League, a new friendly competition for Europe. The spot was seized at the same time as the first place position in the FIFA rankings. Let us remember that it ranks teams according to their coefficient, calculated on the basis of their number of victories and defeats, the types of competitions the team participates in and the level of teams faced. Since 1993, only 7 nations have held first place: Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium.
This first place carries a host status during the various coin tosses for FIFA. Sports-wise, it's prospectively a great deal for the Euro 2020, which will be held across different European capitals. Furthermore, it ensures increased visibility of the Devils in the public eye and for global sponsors.
During "The Best FIFA Football Awards" evening in London, Thibault Courtois won the award for "Goalkeeper of the Year", having already won this award following the World Cup in Russia. Attacker Eden Hazard was included in FIFA's team of the year, the FIFPro World XI.
The next two matches for the Red Devils will be 12 October against Switzerland during the Nations League and a friendly against the Netherlands on the 16th.