While FIFA’s world rankings have often been described as superfluous since their introduction in December 1992, they proved critical in shaping the 2026 World Cup.
For the first time, FIFA ensured its top four seeds—the top-four ranked teams in the world—wouldn’t meet at the tournament until the semifinals, assuming they won their respective groups. And for the first time since FIFA’s rankings emerged in the ether, the four World Cup semifinalists were the top-four ranked teams pre-tournament.
A chess-inspired Elo system has been used to calculate these rankings since 2018, meaning nations are easily moveable. Every single match has an impact, as does the strength of the opponent and the game’s relative importance.
Thus, the majority of those competing at the World Cup saw their ranking see-saw while the tournament was ongoing.
With the summer festivities now over, here’s how drastically FIFA’s world rankings changed.
How Every Team’s FIFA World Ranking Changed After World Cup
| Nation | FIFA World Ranking Pre-World Cup (June 11) | FIFA World Ranking Post-World Cup | Rankings Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| Spain | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Argentina | 3 | 2 | +1 |
| England | 4 | 4 | – |
| Portugal | 5 | 7 | -2 |
| Brazil | 6 | 5 | +1 |
| Netherlands | 7 | 9 | -2 |
| Morocco | 8 | 6 | +2 |
| Belgium | 9 | 8 | +1 |
| Germany | 10 | 12 | -2 |
| Croatia | 11 | 13 | -2 |
| Colombia | 13 | 11 | +2 |
| Senegal | 14 | 18 | -4 |
| Mexico | 15 | 10 | +5 |
| USA | 16 | 16 | – |
| Uruguay | 17 | 20 | -3 |
| Japan | 18 | 17 | +1 |
| Switzerland | 19 | 14 | +5 |
| Iran | 21 | 22 | -1 |
| Türkiye | 22 | 27 | -5 |
| Ecuador | 23 | 25 | -2 |
| Austria | 24 | 23 | +1 |
| South Korea | 25 | 32 | -7 |
| Australia | 27 | 28 | -1 |
| Algeria | 28 | 29 | -1 |
| Egypt | 29 | 24 | +5 |
| Canada | 30 | 30 | – |
| Norway | 31 | 19 | +12 |
| Panama | 33 | 44 | -11 |
| Côte d’Ivoire | 34 | 31 | +3 |
| Sweden | 38 | 37 | +1 |
| Paraguay | 40 | 34 | +6 |
| Czechia | 41 | 48 | -7 |
| Scotland | 43 | 42 | +1 |
| Tunisia | 44 | 57 | -13 |
| DR Congo | 46 | 41 | +5 |
| Uzbekistan | 50 | 60 | -10 |
| Qatar | 55 | 59 | -4 |
| Iraq | 57 | 63 | -6 |
| South Africa | 60 | 54 | +6 |
| Saudi Arabia | 61 | 58 | +3 |
| Jordan | 63 | 73 | -10 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 65 | 61 | +4 |
| Cabo Verde | 69 | 64 | +5 |
| Ghana | 74 | 65 | +9 |
| Curaçao | 82 | 82 | – |
| Haiti | 83 | 88 | -5 |
| New Zealand | 85 | 86 | -1 |
World champion Spain was FIFA’s second-ranked team entering the World Cup, and it has unsurprisingly leapfrogged France to sit atop the rankings. Les Bleus, who finished fourth, have slid down to third, while unconvincing runner-up Argentina is now second.
England has stayed exactly where it started the tournament in fourth, having collapsed late on in its semifinal against the holder.
The top 10 has remained largely the same, although Mexico’s impressive campaign on home soil has seen it jump five spots from 15th to 10th. Germany’s wretched tournament means it’s moved down to 12th, now behind Colombia.
While Mexico is on the rise, its fellow co-hosts didn’t get the same love. The USMNT and Canada are both unmoved in 16th and 30th, respectively, despite reaching the round of 16.
In terms of the biggest movers, no one matches Norway. The Viking rowers are now FIFA’s 19th-ranked team—its highest standing since the 90s. At 31st, Ståle Solbakken’s team, who qualified so emphatically for the World Cup, were underrated before the tournament got underway.
Ghana (+9) is the next biggest riser, while Switzerland joined Mexico in having its ranking bumped five spots. The Swiss, after reaching their first World Cup quarterfinal since 1954, now rank 14th, just behind Germany and Croatia.
On the contrary, no team suffered more at the tournament than Tunisia, which sacked a manager after one match and bowed out after the group stage following three heavy defeats. It’s slumped 13 spots down to 57th, while debutants Jordan and Uzbekistan have each declined by 10 spots.
South Korea and Czechia are down seven after failing to make it out of Group A, but the Elo system remained somewhat kind to Scotland, which actually went up a place despite its early exit.
Haiti finished bottom of Scotland’s group, and is now the lowest-ranked nation to have competed at the 2026 World Cup. It’s fallen behind New Zealand into 88th.
FIFA’s Top 10 Nations After World Cup
| Rank | Nation |
|---|---|
| 1. | Spain |
| 2. | Argentina |
| 3. | France |
| 4. | England |
| 5. | Brazil |
| 6. | Morocco |
| 7. | Portugal |
| 8. | Belgium |
| 9. | Netherlands |
| 10. | Mexico |
