The Euro Beach Soccer League champions surge into the top 10 after Catania success.
European champions Ukraine are August’s Movers of the Month, capping a landmark week for Yevhen Varentysia’s men after tasting continental success in Catania.
Ukraine ended the title defence of previous holders and world champions Portugal with a disciplined display in Sunday evening’s Euro Beach Soccer League final, earning a hard-fought 2-1 win to claim their first European title following heartbreak in the final last year.
As a result, they move up four places to ninth in the new and updated world rankings, as they prepare to begin the first step of FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifying in Jesolo this week.
Despite defeat to Ukraine, Portugal remain top of the pile in an unchanged top four – Iran moving above Tahiti and Switzerland into fifth after victory in the Continental Beach Soccer Cup.
UAE are the ones to drop out of the top 10 and make way for Ukraine – slipping three places to 13th – while Japan move up three to 11th.
China, Vietnam and Thailand all enjoyed big ranking boosts as a result of their efforts in Ordos last week, moving up by nine, 17 and 10 places respectively.
Bahrain too jump nine places while FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2017 hosts the Bahamas are up two spots to 51st after a month that saw a series of high-profile friendlies during their summer camp in Europe, which included an impressive 5-4 win against United States.
Azerbaijan’s promotion to the top tier of the Euro Beach Soccer League was not enough to move them from 38th while beaten finalists Hungary slip a place to 16th.
After Romania’s relegation to Division B was confirmed in Catania, the men from Bucharest fall to 42nd.
