New ranking marks the first time Spain have been No 1 since June 2014 when they exited the World Cup in the group stage
Spain have returned to the summit of the Fifa men’s rankings for the first time since 2014, overtaking Argentina after a strong start to their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Luis de la Fuente’s side, who were crowned European champions in 2024, opened qualification for the 2026 World Cup with victories over Turkey and Bulgaria earlier this month.
Those results lifted them above Argentina, whose defeat to Ecuador saw them drop to third. France, meanwhile, climbed into second place.
The new ranking marks the first time Spain have been No 1 since June 2014, when their World Cup defence ended with a spectacular group-stage exit in Brazil.
Elsewhere, England remain fourth, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal edged ahead of Brazil into fifth. Morocco is the highest-placed African team, ranked 11th, while Japan in 19th place is Asia’s top team.
The Fifa world ranking is updated monthly. The November edition will be used to determine seedings for the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington on 5 December.
In the draw, teams are grouped into pots based mainly on their rankings. Higher‐ranked teams go into pots with top seeds, while lower‐ranked ones go into later pots.
