Spain has ascended to the top of the FIFA men’s world rankings following their victory in the FIFA World Cup, bringing an end to Argentina’s dominance. This shift occurred after Spain claimed a 1-0 win over the defending champions Argentina in the World Cup final held at the New York-New Jersey Stadium on Sunday. Ferran Torres emerged as the decisive player, scoring in extra time to lead Spain to their second World Cup title, marking their first win since 2010.
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Argentina’s loss led to the La Albiceleste forfeiting their World Cup title and dropping from the top of the FIFA rankings to second place. France remains in third, despite finishing fourth in the tournament, while England held onto fourth place after defeating France 6-4 in the third-place playoff.
Brazil made a comeback into the top five, rising to fifth as Portugal fell to seventh. Cristiano Ronaldo’s team faced a disappointing exit in the Round of 16 against Spain.
Morocco achieved a significant milestone by reaching their highest FIFA ranking at sixth. Following their historic semifinal run in the 2022 World Cup, the Atlas Lions advanced to the quarterfinals in 2026, eliminating the Netherlands in a penalty shootout before being defeated by France.
Germany, however, saw a drop in their ranking due to a lackluster World Cup showing, falling from 10th to 12th after a penalty shootout loss to Paraguay in the Round of 32. In contrast, Norway enjoyed a remarkable resurgence, making their first World Cup appearance in 28 years and reaching the quarterfinals before losing to England 2-1. This impressive performance propelled Norway up 12 spots to 19th in the world rankings.
Additionally, World Cup co-hosts Mexico and Switzerland each made notable gains, climbing five positions in the latest FIFA rankings. Meanwhile, Italy, which did not qualify for the 48-team FIFA World Cup, dropped three places and now sits at 15th in the rankings.
Here are the top 20-ranked teams as of July 21
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