Spain's football woes continued as they fell outside the top 10 in the soccer rankings on Thursday for the first time since 2007, after spending almost six years on top.
Spain won the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European Championships, spending almost six years on top of the rankings, but the troubles in the aging team became apparent in the first game of last year's World Cup in Brazil, when the Netherlands routed the top-ranked defending champions 5-1.
After early elimination, Spain later lost friendly games to France and Germany. And in October, the team's eight-year unbeaten run in qualifying matches ended in a surprising 2-1 loss at Slovakia, Sport24 reported.
On Thursday, FIFA's latest rankings dropped Spain to 11th place, the first time the team has been outside the top 10 since 2007.
A day before the rankings were released, Spain football team coach Vicente del Bosque said that they have to return to being the team they were before.
Spain, which fell one spot from 10th, has not played a match since losing to Germany 1-0 in November, which was also their first loss on home soil in 35 matches, dating back to 2006.
More From This Section
At the top of the rankings, world champion Germany remained in first place, ahead of Argentina, Colombia, Belgium and the Netherlands. Italy climbed up to replace Spain in 10th.
Spain rose to the top of the rankings when they won the Euro Cup in 2008, with Luis Aragones as coach. The team remained at the top when Del Bosque took over and guided them to the 2010 World Cup title and the Euro 2012 title, the report added.