FIFA name Spain Team of the Year

Posted Thursday, December 22, 2011 by ESPN

Spain have won's the FIFA accolade of Team of the Year for the fourth time in succession.

The Spaniards, helmed by the venerable Vicente del Bosque, are defending world and European champions.

They had yet another stellar year in 2011, winning nine of the 11 games they played and losing only one. Highlighting the attacking philosophy that underpins the team, del Bosque's men scored 30 goals while conceding only 10.

The Wales team managed by the late Gary Speed were confirmed as the "best movers of the year" in FIFA's world rankings after moving into the top 50.

Under the stewardship of Speed, who took over in late 2010, Wales rose from 116th to finish the year in 48th place.

Speed, who died last month aged 42, oversaw Euro 2012 qualifying victories over Montenegro, Switzerland and Bulgaria, as well as impressive performances in friendlies including a 4-1 victory over Norway in his final match in charge.

That saw them amass 330 points under FIFA's system, more than any other nation in the world.

The top 10 of the world rankings are unchanged from November, with Holland, Germany and Uruguay following Spain in that order.

England finished the year in fifth place.

Best Movers of the Year

Asia: Vietnam

Africa: Sierra Leone

North and Central America: Bermuda

South America: Uruguay

Europe: Wales

Oceania: Samoa

Teams of the Year

Asia: Japan