October 27 – World champions Argentina remain top (1861 points) of the World Rankings after two wins from two in the second round of Conmebol World Cup 2026 qualifiers, as the Albiceleste cruised past Paraguay and Peru without conceding a goal.
In fact, Scaloni’s side are yet to concede a goal since lifting the 2022 World Cup trophy in Qatar, scoring on 20 occasions in the same time frame.
Second place France yet again lose out to the World Cup champions, as they sit considerably behind in the rankings despite back-to-back victories against Scotland and the Netherlands. These victories have remedied the unexpected defeat to Germany last month as Les Bleus gain 13 points to take their tally up to 1853, just eight points away from the all-important top spot.
The trio of Brazil (3rd, 1812 points), England (4th, 1807 points), and Belgium (5th, 1793 points) remain unchanged from the September 2023 edition of the rankings, as England close the gap on the five-time World Cup champions thanks to a disappointing international break from the Seleção, drawing with Venezuela and losing 2-0 to a rampant Uruguay. The difference between 3rd and 4th has gone from 43 points to just five.
Meanwhile, Portugal have leaped from 8th place into 6th, having thrashed Bosnia and Herzegovina 5-0 away from home and bested a determined Slovakia thanks to a brace from veteran Cristiano Ronaldo.
Italy remains in 9th despite a 4-0 thumping of Malta, after being beaten 3-1 by England in their revenge bout at Wembley.
Croatia have slipped down to 10th, losing almost 36 points in the process (the most of any team in the world during the international window), as a result of back-to-back losses versus Wales and Türkiye. As it stands, Luka Modric’s side sit just shy of a place at Euro 2024.
The top-ranked Concacaf team, USA, are the nearest competitors to the top ten, despite the 35-point gap between 10th and 11th.
Finland were victims of the biggest placement drop, as consecutive losses to Slovenia and Kazakhstan saw the side drop to 62nd place – an eight-place loss from the start of the summer.
In contrast, Lithuania holds the title of largest jump in the rankings (9), although is still yet to break into the top 125 teams.
To see the full ranking click here.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1714277000labto1714277000ofdlr1714277000owedi1714277000sni@g1714277000niwe.1714277000yrrah1714277000