Germany’s Bastian Schweinsteiger celebrates with the trophy after the World Cup final soccer match between Germany and Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, July 13, 2014. Germany won the match 1-0. AP
ZURICH, Switzerland — Germany has climbed to the top of the FIFA rankings after winning the World Cup for the first time in 24 years.
The four-time champions, who beat Argentina 1-0 at the Maracana on Sunday, have replaced Spain in first place as well as succeeding them as world champions.
Argentina and the Netherlands complete the new-look top three.
Spain’s title defense surprisingly ended in the group stage, and the team has dropped to eighth place.
First-round exits also led to Portugal going down seven places to 11th, Italy dropping five to 14th and England plummeting 10 spots to 20th.
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