Argentina tops FIFA rankings, Spain overtakes France

Argentina, the world champions and the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup from the South American qualifiers, maintained their top spot in the FIFA world rankings released on Thursday, while Spain overtook France as second. Argentina added 18.91 points to their tally after beating Uruguay (1-0) and Brazil (4-1) in World Cup qualifiers, while Spain climbed to second place after gaining 1.37 points after advancing to the UEFA Nations League semi-finals at the expense of the Netherlands on penalties. France dropped to third after losing 2-0 to Croatia, losing 2-0, before recovering with a second-leg victory by the same score and advancing on penalties. In the remaining top 10, England maintained its fourth position ahead of Brazil, while the Netherlands climbed to sixth at the expense of Portugal, who dropped to seventh. Belgium came in eighth, followed by Italy (ninth), and Germany (tenth).
Morocco advances and Qatar declines in the Arab world
Morocco continues to lead the Arab teams, ranking 12th globally, after defeating Niger and Tanzania in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, while Egypt (32), Algeria (36), and Tunisia (49) advanced.
Qatar fell seven places to 55th place, while Saudi Arabia (58) advanced, and Iraq (59) fell three places and was the most lost in points with 29.46 points.
The ranking witnessed the advancement of Jordan (62) and Syria (93), while the UAE (65) and Bahrain (84) declined, while Oman (77) rose.