Spain climbs to No. 1 in FIFA rankings after World Cup triumph

NEW YORK: Spain has climbed to the top of the FIFA men’s world rankings following its unbeaten run to the 2026 FIFA World Cup title, while Pakistan remains near the bottom of the standings at 199th place.

The updated rankings, released after the World Cup, show Spain moving from second to first after gaining a tournament-high 121.17 ranking points. World Cup runner-up and 2022 champion Argentina dropped to second, while France and England retained third and fourth places, respectively.

Brazil moved up one position to fifth despite being eliminated by Norway in the Round of 16. Morocco reached a historic sixth place after its quarterfinal appearance, while Portugal slipped two places to seventh.

Belgium climbed to eighth despite its quarterfinal defeat to eventual champion Spain. The Netherlands ranked ninth, followed by Mexico in 10th place.

Among the biggest movers, Tunisia fell 12 places to 57th after losing all three of its Group F matches at the World Cup. Panama recorded the largest points loss, dropping to 44th after finishing without a win in Group L.

In Asia, Iran is ranked 22nd, Egypt 24th, India 138th and Ethiopia 143rd. Afghanistan occupies 177th place, Bangladesh is 181st and Sri Lanka 187th.

Pakistan is ranked 199th among FIFA’s 210 member associations, while San Marino remains at the bottom of the global rankings.