Spain held onto the number one position in the latest FIFA men's world rankings released on October 18, 2025, followed by Argentina in second and France in third. Notable movements included Nigeria climbing four spots to 41st and India dropping to 136th, its lowest in nearly a decade.
The FIFA men's world rankings update reflects results from recent international matches, including World Cup qualifiers and friendlies. Spain strengthened their lead with qualifying wins over Georgia and Bulgaria, while Argentina moved up to second with friendly victories against Venezuela and Puerto Rico. France sits third after a 3-0 win over Azerbaijan and a 2-2 draw with Iceland.
In the top 10, England occupies fourth, Portugal fifth, the Netherlands sixth, Brazil seventh, Belgium eighth, with Germany rising to 10th after back-to-back wins over Luxembourg and Northern Ireland. Croatia slipped to 11th following a draw with the Czech Republic. Morocco remains Africa's highest-ranked at 12th, ahead of Senegal (18th), Egypt (32nd), Algeria (35th), and Nigeria, who jumped to 41st and overtook Ivory Coast (42nd) after a 2-1 victory over Lesotho and 4-0 win against Benin Republic in qualifiers.
Asia's top teams showed stability: Japan unchanged at 19th after a 3-2 friendly win over Brazil, Iran steady at 21st despite a 2-1 loss to Russia and 2-0 win over Tanzania in friendlies, South Korea up one to 22nd, and Australia at 25th. Qatar rose one spot to 52nd following their 2026 World Cup qualification by defeating the United Arab Emirates. Uzbekistan dropped to 55th, while Iraq improved one place—reports vary between 57th and 58th—with a 1-0 win over Indonesia and 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia in qualifiers, ending direct qualification hopes but setting up a playoff against the UAE.
India's decline to 136th highlights ongoing struggles, including a goalless group-stage exit at the AFC Asian Cup and three head coaches in under two years, with their last competitive win a 1-0 over Kuwait in November 2023. Ukraine climbed to 27th with qualifier wins over Iceland and Azerbaijan. Notably, Russia rose to 30th—their first top-30 finish since 2016—despite a ban from international competitions, gaining points from friendlies like 2-1 over Qatar and 3-0 against Bolivia, plus a streak of 15 wins and 7 draws against lower-ranked opponents.
These rankings will influence seedings for the 2026 World Cup draw on December 5.
