Argentina lost the world's number one spot to France

According to the latest FIFA rankings, Argentina has surrendered the number one spot to France. The consistent form of Kylian Mbappé and his teammates helped them earn 1,925.86 points, and their progression to the World Cup quarterfinals allowed them to reclaim the pinnacle of world football. France moved up two places from before the World Cup to lead the FIFA rankings.

After winning all their group stage matches, France secured a convincing 3-0 victory over Sweden. The blue-clad side then edged past Paraguay with a minimal 1-0 scoreline in the round of 16.

World Cup champions Argentina dropped to second place with 1,925.15 points. Although Lionel Messi and his teammates have shown resilient determination throughout the tournament, they could not maintain the top ranking and had to cede the lead to their rivals. The main reason for La Albiceleste's loss of points was their match against Cape Verde, a lower-ranked FIFA team, in the round of 16. Lionel Scaloni's squad was held to a draw in regular time before winning in extra time.

This was a notable slip by the world champions. Argentina entered the 2026 World Cup as the top FIFA team after the June update. However, a stumble in the knockout rounds opened the door for France to overtake them.

Spain sits in third place with 1,912.34 points. They dropped one spot from before the 2026 World Cup. La Roja were also held to a draw by the surprise package Cape Verde in their opening match, but Lamine Yamal and his teammates recovered. Notably, they secured a crucial victory over Portugal in the round of 16 to book a quarterfinal berth.

Fourth place belongs to England. At the 2026 World Cup, the Three Lions have played quite ruggedly, with hard-fought matches that fell short of expectations. England is showing their gritty but effective style.

Brazil were eliminated in the round of 16 but still climbed to fifth place in the rankings thanks to their group stage victories.

By reaching the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals, Morocco has risen to sixth place in the FIFA rankings. The North African side is also the only African representative left in the tournament.

Portugal dropped to seventh place, two spots lower than at the start of the World Cup. Their decline stems from two draws against the Democratic Republic of Congo and Colombia, while a 2-1 win over Croatia was not enough to compensate for the points lost.

In eighth place is the Netherlands, with Belgium in ninth. Mexico made the biggest jump among the top ten, rising four places to tenth in the world.

Latest FIFA rankings top five
1. France
2. Argentina
3. Spain
4. England
5. Brazil