The latest FIFA Men's World Rankings have been released, revealing significant shifts at the top. Spain has surged to the No. 1 spot, displacing Argentina, who had held the position since April 2023. France also climbed to second place, pushing Argentina down to third.

Spain's ascent to the top is their first time since June 2014. Their strong performance in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, including victories over Turkey (6-0) and Bulgaria (3-0), propelled them upwards. Mikel Merino, the Spanish central midfielder, played exceptionally well in both games. Spain now boasts 1875.37 points and has gone 27 official matches without a defeat.

France's rise to second place was aided by wins against Ukraine (2-0) and Iceland (2-1) during the international break. Kylian Mbappé, the French captain, scored in both matches.

Argentina's drop to third place was influenced by their 1-0 loss to Ecuador, though they did secure a 3-0 victory against Venezuela during the same period.

The top 10 has seen some other movement as well. England remains steady at No. 4, while Portugal moved up to fifth, trading places with Brazil, who fell to sixth. The Netherlands holds steady at seventh, followed by Belgium at eighth. Croatia climbed to ninth, and Italy rounded out the top 10.

Outside the top 10, Morocco made a notable jump to 11th place, surpassing Germany, who now sits at 12th. The United States Men's National Team (USMNT) fell one spot to 16th.

The FIFA World Ranking, which was first introduced in December 1992, is a system used to rank men's national teams based on their game results. Points are awarded for all FIFA-recognized full international matches, and the rankings are updated periodically. The system has undergone several revisions to improve its accuracy in reflecting the relative strengths of national teams. Since August 16, 2018, the ranking system has used an Elo rating system, similar to that used in chess and Go.

The next FIFA Men's World Ranking update is scheduled for October 23, 2025. These rankings are important as they can influence seedings for tournaments like the FIFA World Cup.