Spain climb to world No. 1 in latest FIFA rankings as Nigeria remain 26th

Spain have replaced Argentina as the world’s top-ranked men’s national team following their triumph at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to the latest FIFA rankings released on Monday.

La Roja moved to the summit after defeating Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the World Cup final in New Jersey, with Ferran Torres scoring the decisive goal in the 106th minute to secure Spain’s second global title.

The victory earned Spain enough ranking points to leapfrog Argentina, taking first place with 1,995.88 points. The reigning world champions, Argentina, dropped to second on 1,970.37 points after losing the final.

France retained third place despite ending the tournament with a defeat to England in the third-place play-off, while England remained fourth after their impressive World Cup campaign. Brazil climbed one place to fifth.

Morocco emerged as Africa’s highest-ranked team after reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The Atlas Lions climbed to sixth in the global rankings, underlining their growing status in international football.

Egypt also made significant progress following their run to the Round of 16, overtaking Nigeria in the African rankings.

Nigeria retained 26th place in the world but slipped to fourth in Africa as Egypt moved ahead of the Super Eagles.

Portugal occupied seventh position in the latest rankings, followed by Belgium in eighth and the Netherlands in ninth.

Mexico completed the world’s top 10 after climbing four places on the back of an impressive World Cup performance.

Germany and Italy both dropped out of the top 10. Germany fell to 12th, behind Colombia, while Italy slipped to 15th following a disappointing tournament.

Colombia occupied 11th place, Croatia ranked 13th, Switzerland 14th and the United States 16th.

Japan remained Asia’s highest-ranked team in 17th position, ahead of Senegal in 18th.

Norway recorded one of the biggest improvements in the rankings, climbing 12 places to 19th after an impressive World Cup campaign that included a shock victory over Brazil.

Uruguay completed the top 20 despite dropping four places after the tournament.

The latest rankings will remain in effect until FIFA releases its next update on October 7, 2026.