Spain Tops FIFA World Rankings for First Time in Over 10 Years

2025-09-21 07:56:56

(MENAFN) Spain surged to the summit of the latest FIFA Men’s World Ranking on Thursday, ending Argentina’s two-year dominance for the first time in over a decade.

The reigning world champions dropped to third place behind France following a 1-0 defeat to Ecuador in CONMEBOL qualifying on Sept. 9. Argentina had already secured their spot in the 2026 World Cup back in March and finished top of the qualifying table before their final match loss.

Spain kicked off their World Cup qualifying with a commanding 3-0 victory over Bulgaria, followed by a dominant 6-0 away win against Turkiye. Their last reign at the top was in June 2014, when they held both the world and European champion titles.

France maintained strong form in UEFA qualifying, beating Ukraine 2-0 and Iceland 2-1.

England remained fourth, while Portugal climbed past Brazil into fifth place. Brazil, the Netherlands, and Belgium held spots six through eight. Croatia and Italy rounded out the top 10, pushing Germany down to 12th.

Notably, Slovakia made the biggest jump, soaring 10 spots to 42nd after a 2-0 home win over Germany.

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