2022 world champion, Argentina is still on top of the world in the ranking of nations established by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and unveiled Thursday November 30. France and England – second and third respectively – complete the podium.
By going to qualify for the 2026 World Cup at the legendary Maracana stadium (0-1), in Brazil, on November 11, the Albiceleste maintained its lead over the Blues. It also pushed back the Seleçao, which is now fifth in the world.
If Didier Deschamps’ men entertained the hope of taking a (very relative) revenge on their tormentors from Qatar, by stealing first place from them in the FIFA rankings, the draw against Greece (2-2), the November 21, at the end of the last day of qualifying for Euro 2024, sealed the deal. Kylian Mbappé and his teammates had to do better than Lionel Messi and his team to hope to overtake them.
Morocco, first African team
Note, two days before the draw for the group stages of the Euro, that five of the six seeded players occupy the Top 10 of the world ranking of nations: Belgium, Portugal and Spain, in addition to the France and England. Only Germany, host country of the competition, fell to sixteenth place, having lost its last two friendly matches, against Turkey (3-2) and Austria (2-0).
A month and a half before the African Cup of Nations, Morocco, semi-finalist of the 2022 World Cup, remains the highest ranked team on the continent with its thirteenth place.