Spain have maintained their grip on top spot in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking, with Argentina, France and England retaining their places behind the pace-setters.
After a busy period of international football, featuring the conclusion of FIFA World Cup 26™ qualifiers for UEFA and Concacaf, as well as the final CAF and AFC play-off fixtures, there has been some significant movement in the ranking.
The latest ranking will help determine the draws for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament and the European Play-Off, which will be held at the home of FIFA in Zurich on Thursday, 20 November. Read on for our full summary of the biggest movers and shakers following November’s update.
Spain stay strong as Brazil make waves
La Roja remain the team to beat at the top of the ranking after sealing progress to next year’s global showpiece with a victory over Georgia followed by a draw against Türkiye in their final two UEFA qualifiers.
The biggest climbers in the top ten were Brazil, who moved up two places to fifth at the expense of Portugal and the Netherlands, who are down to sixth and seventh respectively.
Following their 4-1 home defeat by Norway, Italy moved down three places to 12th. With the Azzurri now seeking a place in the World Cup via the 16-team UEFA Play-off Tournament, Croatia have moved back into the top ten.
USA leapfrog Mexico
Following a series of positive results, Mauricio Pochettino’s USA have moved up two places to 14th to become the top-ranked Concacaf side ahead of Mexico, who are down one to 15th. The Stars and Stripes had a hugely-successful November window, defeating Paraguay 2-1 and then thumping Uruguay 5-1.
Uzbekistan back in top 50
One of the biggest climbers were World Cup participants Uzbekistan, who moved up five places to 50 to reach the top half-century for the first time since October 2016. Fabio Cannavaro’s men defeated the mighty Egypt before downing IR Iran in two recent friendlies.
Three other teams also surged by a similar margin: Philippines (136th), Turkmenistan (137th) and Malta (161st). Also making headway in the top 50 are Nigeria (38th, up three) and Tunisia (40th, up three). Meanwhile, Kosovo have broken new ground by moving up four places to 80th and are in good stead to be crowned the year’s biggest climbers.
