Spain Reclaim No. 1 Spot as FIFA Releases Post-World Cup Rankings
FIFA released its first official rankings update since the World Cup ended, and the reshuffle at the top tells its own story. Spain jumped back to No. 1 after winning the tournament, moving one place above Argentina, who slip to second despite finishing as runners-up. It's the first time since the World Cup began in 1930 that the top four ranked teams are exactly the four semi-finalists. Spain, Argentina, France and England now occupy the same order in FIFA's list as they did on the pitch.
The shakeup goes well beyond the podium. Brazil moved up one place to fifth, and Morocco climbed to sixth, both benefiting from strong tournament runs. Portugal had the opposite experience. Cristiano Ronaldo's side entered the World Cup ranked fifth, but a Round of 16 exit to eventual champions Spain dropped them two spots to seventh, passed by both Brazil and Morocco in the process.
Host nations made the biggest ground. Mexico jumped four places into the top ten for the first time since March 2022, while co-hosts the United States rose one spot to 16th. Norway posted the single largest climb anywhere in the rankings, leaping 12 places to 19th after reaching the quarter-finals before losing to England. On the way down, Germany fell out of the top ten entirely, dropping from 10th to 12th.
Here is the updated top 20 in the men's rankings, with movement from their pre-tournament position:
| Rank | Team | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | +1 |
| 2 | Argentina | -1 |
| 3 | France | — |
| 4 | England | — |
| 5 | Brazil | +1 |
| 6 | Morocco | +1 |
| 7 | Portugal | -2 |
| 8 | Belgium | +1 |
| 9 | Netherlands | -1 |
| 10 | Mexico | +4 |
| 11 | Colombia | +2 |
| 12 | Germany | -2 |
| 13 | Croatia | -2 |
| 14 | Switzerland | +5 |
| 16 | USA | +1 |
| 17 | Japan | +1 |
| 18 | Senegal | -3 |
| 19 | Norway | +12 |
| 20 | Uruguay | -4 |
FIFA's points system rewards results at major tournaments heavily, which explains why a single month of football can move teams so far in either direction. Elimination rounds carry more weight than routine friendlies, so deep tournament runs like Norway's or Mexico's translate directly into ranking jumps, while shock exits like Portugal's or Germany's get punished just as sharply.
This is also the last ranking update for a while. FIFA's next official release lands on October 7, 2026, once the new international window gets underway. Until then, this post-World Cup snapshot stands as the definitive pecking order in men's football, with Spain sitting on top for the first time since April.