Germany end year at top of FIFA rankings

World champions Germany will end the year at the top of the FIFA rankings.

The final 2014 edition of the world governing body’s rankings were released on Thursday, with the top 20 remaining unchanged.

That means Joachim Low’s Germany side will end a year that saw them win the World Cup for a fourth time at the summit, ahead of Argentina and Colombia.

Belgium and Netherlands round off the top five, the former one of the year’s biggest movers as they gained 319 points in 2014.

No Asian Football Confederation (AFC) or Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) nations are represented in the top 50, which has a new member in the form of Zambia.

Zambia beat Mozambique and Cape Verde to ensure qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations in November and have been rewarded with a 16-place jump to number 46.