The FIFA ranking after the World Cup

The FIFA national team ranking is one of the main indicators of each country's moment in world football. If for a long time it was something about status, nowadays it is decisive in several factors within competitions.

The main example is that the World Cup draw placed the 4 best teams in the ranking at the time on separate paths so they could only meet from the semi-finals onward. And all four eventually reached that stage, an unprecedented fact in the history of the tournament. The ranking also provides context for sports betting markets, including those available through a sportsbook in Uganda during international competitions.

The way the ranking is followed has recently changed. Before, only periodic updates were available, but FIFA now also shows provisional changes live during international matches. The points gained or lost depend on factors such as the strength of the opponent, the importance of the match and the expected result.

Evidently, the World Cup champion took the top spot in the FIFA Ranking. The victory against Argentina in the final earned 30.27 points and made the Europeans overtake the South Americans on the list. With that, there was a change in positioning, with Spain rising one place after the World Cup. It's worth remembering that Spain also leads the FIFA Women's Ranking, meaning the country currently tops both lists.

Argentina started the World Cup in first place in the FIFA Ranking, after all, it was the reigning world champion. Now, it has dropped to second place with the points earned by Spain in the final. The next phase of the South American team will also depend on how the squad evolves after the tournament, with Lionel Messi's international future still an important question. Several players who were not part of the 2022 squad already gained World Cup experience in 2026.

France is considered by many experts to be the team with the best squad in the world, but that has not been translating into results. The team was eliminated from the Euro and the World Cup by Spain, which seems to have the antidote to beat the French. Thus, France is in third place in the FIFA ranking, the same position it occupied at the start of the World Cup.

England is another team that is in the same position it occupied before the start of the World Cup. The match that decided third place in the tournament, although it may seem of little importance, earned England 33.41 points, since the team beat the French 6x4. Thus, the country distanced itself considerably from the fifth-placed team and strengthened its position within the Top 4, which, as mentioned, can influence the path created by the World Cup draw.

Brazil's World Cup ended earlier than expected, with Norway eliminating the team in the round of 16. However, even so, the country rose one position in the FIFA ranking due to Portugal's drop, which occupied fifth place. The country, which has long competed near the top of the ranking, is also experiencing its longest period without a World Cup title.

Morocco is less than one point behind Brazil and has reached sixth place, the country's best position ever in the FIFA ranking. The team was a World Cup semi-finalist in 2022 and reached the quarter-finals in 2026, while continuing to produce players capable of competing at a high level. The country rose one position during the World Cup, having occupied seventh place before the tournament.

Portugal arrived at the World Cup as one of the favorites for the title because of its strong generation of players, but its campaign ended against champion Spain in the round of 16. Thus, the country dropped two positions in the ranking, going from fifth to seventh place.

In the last decade Belgium came to lead the FIFA ranking because of its good campaigns in the European qualifiers for the World Cup and to this day manages to stay in the Top 10 even without its historic players still being in good form. The team's World Cup was better than expected, with the team reaching the quarter-finals and showing good performance and a historic comeback against Senegal in the round of 32. With that, the country rose one position in the ranking, overtaking the Netherlands.

The Netherlands had a World Cup within expectations, being eliminated already in the round of 32 by Morocco. The team arrived at the World Cup as a great unknown, since at the same time it could surprise and go far, it would also be completely normal for elimination to occur as it did. However, the good performance at the European level still keeps the country in the Top 10, having lost one position after the tournament.

Mexico was the only change in the Top 10 of the FIFA Ranking after the World Cup, having entered the top of the list after a good campaign playing at home. The team won all its group stage matches and eliminated Ecuador in the round of 32, falling to England in an extremely close match in the round of 16. Finally, the country broke the barrier of not reaching the fifth match at World Cups. Thus, the Mexicans rose 4 positions in the ranking and strengthened their place near the top after the tournament.

Colombia is another team that could have gone further in the World Cup, since it showed excellent football, but was eliminated by Switzerland on penalties in the round of 16. Even so, the campaign was enough for the country to rise two positions in the ranking, overtaking European teams Germany and Croatia.

Germany's recent World Cup record remained below the level reached with the 2014 title. After first-round exits in 2018 and 2022, the team fell to Paraguay in the round of 32 this time. For users following the tournament through the 1xBet app Uganda on mobile, the result also changed the context around later betting markets. Germany consequently dropped out of the Top 10, falling 2 positions.

Croatia placed itself among the greats of world football after being a World Cup finalist in 2018 and a semi-finalist in 2022. However, the current generation has not yet repeated those previous World Cup runs, and the country was eliminated in the round of 32 by Portugal in a close match. Thus, the Croatians dropped two positions in the FIFA ranking.

The biggest rises and falls after the World Cup

Even though there weren't major movements on the first page of the FIFA ranking, several teams gained or lost many positions during the competition. The main highlight in this regard was Norway, which after achieving its best position in the history of the tournament and having eliminated Brazil in the round of 16, rose 12 positions and reached 19th place in the ranking. Paraguay also had a good climb after eliminating Germany and rose 7 positions, reaching 34th place. South Africa, which surprised the world by qualifying for the round of 32, rose 6 positions and ended up in 54th.

Egypt rose 5 positions and reached 24th, Switzerland rose 5 positions and reached 15th, the Democratic Republic of Congo also rose 5 positions and reached 41st place, and Ghana rose 8 positions and ended up in 65th place. All of these countries qualified for the knockout stage of the World Cup.

On the other hand, several countries lost multiple positions in the list. The biggest of them was Tunisia's, which fell 12 positions after losing all its first-round matches and finishing second-to-last in the competition, having conceded 12 goals in just 3 matches. Now, the Africans are in 57th place. Uzbekistan fell 10 positions and is now in 60th. Jordan also fell 10 positions, reaching 73rd place. Panama fell 10 positions and is in 44th.

The Czech Republic fell 8 positions and ended up in 48th place. South Korea was eliminated in the group stage and fell 7 positions in the ranking, ending up in 32nd place. Uruguay had the biggest drop within the Top 20, falling 4 places and ending up in 20th place.

How the ranking changes sports betting markets

For sports betting, these movements help explain why the evaluation of a national team can change after a major tournament. A rise such as Norway's or Morocco's does not automatically mean different odds in every future match, since the opponent, venue and available squad still influence the market. However, the ranking becomes another reference when comparing teams that finished the World Cup in very different positions from where they started.

The same applies to countries that lost several places. A drop in the ranking does not erase previous results, but it reflects a recent sequence that can influence expectations before the next international matches. Thus, the post-World Cup ranking works alongside recent form and the level of opposition when sports betting markets are formed.

In 2027, the FIFA Women's World Cup will be held in Brazil. So, it's also worth knowing how the ranking currently stands: