It means the FIFA World Cup semi-finalists have been named as the rankings' team of the year.

France, the World Cup winners in Russia in 2018, are the year's best mover having gained more points - 165 - since December 2017 than any other nation.

The French lead that particular table from Uruguay, who are unchanged in seventh position overall, and Kosovo, who are 131st.

They have registered net gains of 151 and 133 points respectively.

Kosovo are the biggest climbers in terms of places gained, having moved up 46 spots since this time last year.

This puts them comfortably ahead of the respective 31 and 30-place rises registered by the previously suspended Kuwait at 158th and El Salvador at 70th.

It has been a good year in general for Europe, which now accounts for 31 of the top 50 men's teams - two more than in December 2017.

Asia has also boosted its top-50 numbers from two to three, with these rises coming at the expense of Africa, which saw its representation drop from eight to five.

The rankings' latest edition for December shows precious few changes, however, having been impacted by just eight "A" matches in what has been a quiet month for international football.

The top 100, in fact, is almost entirely unaltered bar for a single-place swapping of positions between Oman, up one place to 82nd at the expense of Zambia.

To see the full rankings click here.