Spain stay top as Brazil surge back into FIFA world ranking’s elite
Spain have tightened their grip on top spot in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking, issued on 19 November, as Brazil returned to the top five following a strong international window.
La Roja remain ahead of world champions Argentina and perennial contenders France, while England hold fourth place. But the most eye-catching movement comes just below, where Brazil have climbed two places to fifth. Their rise pushes Portugal down to sixth and the Netherlands to seventh.
Italy, meanwhile, have slumped out of the top ten entirely. The Azzurri drop three places to 12th after a humbling 4–1 home defeat to Norway – a result that confirmed the Scandinavians among the 42 nations already assured of a place at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Croatia are the chief beneficiaries of Italy’s stumble, nudging back into tenth and rejoining the global elite.
World Cup picture sharpens
This month’s ranking comes as UEFA and Concacaf wrapped up their final qualification fixtures ahead of the Play-Off Tournament and the European play-off draws, both to be held in Zurich on 20 November. Twenty-two nations – six via the global play-off and sixteen through Europe – will soon discover the routes they must navigate to claim the final six slots at the expanded 48-team tournament.
A total of 149 senior internationals were played since the last update, including 74 friendlies, producing widespread reshuffling in the middle and lower tiers of the table.
Concacaf hosts shift positions
Among next summer’s co-hosts, the United States have edged upwards. The Americans rise two spots to 14th, overtaking Mexico, who slide to 15th. The pair remain the highest-ranked sides in Concacaf.
Uzbekistan headline the climbers
Uzbekistan have made one of the month’s most notable leaps, climbing five places to re-enter the top 50 for the first time since 2016. They are joined by Malta, the Philippines and Turkmenistan, who also jump five places apiece.
Kosovo continue their steady ascent, moving up four spots to 80th and positioning themselves among the leading candidates to finish 2025 as the biggest climbers overall.
Nigeria (38th, up three) and Tunisia (40th, up three) also enjoyed productive windows.
Denmark slide
The month’s heaviest points loss belongs to Denmark, who shed 24.27 ranking points after a disappointing run. El Salvador, India and Luxembourg all endured drops of six places – the sharpest positional declines in this edition.
Eritrea remain the only inactive, unranked side, with no new teams added or removed from the list.
The full table is available on FIFA’s “Inside FIFA” platform.