With a little more than six months left until the start of the World Cup 2026, the final details are being settled. There are already 42 teams confirmed for the tournament, which will be played next summer in North America, while the draw will take place on December 5 in Washington. In that context, the FIFA rankings carry major importance and show Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
On Wednesday, FIFA released the latest update to the rankings following the matches from the November international break, the last of the year. The top ten saw a significant change thanks to the rise of Brazil, which climbed from seventh to fifth after defeating Senegal and drawing with Tunisia.
Brazil’s results and performances in recent months have improved dramatically, highlighting the positive impact Ancelotti’s arrival has had. With their place at next year’s World Cup already secured, they now head into the tournament as one of the leading contenders for the title.
However, Brazil’s rise in the FIFA rankings came at the expense of two other national teams. Portugal dropped from fifth to sixth, partly due to the loss against Ireland in which Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off. In addition, the Netherlands also suffered, falling from sixth to seventh place.
Lamine Yamal’s Spain remain at the top of the FIFA rankings.
The main changes in the FIFA rankings in November
Spain, with an almost flawless run in the World Cup qualifiers, maintain the top spot in the FIFA rankings, though their lead over Argentina has narrowed. France complete the podium, another team that secured its place in the World Cup 2026 in November.
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Beyond the rise of Brazil and the slight drop of Portugal and Netherlands, there was another notable shift: Italy fell three spots and dropped out of the top ten. Now forced into the playoff route for a third straight qualifying cycle, Gennaro Gattuso’s team slipped from ninth to twelfth, overtaken by Germany, Croatia, and Morocco.
Here is the top ten in the FIFA rankings:
- Spain
- Argentina
- France
- England
- Brazil
- Portugal
- Netherlands
- Belgium
- Germany
- Croatia
Why the FIFA rankings matter
The FIFA rankings serve as a comparison system for all national teams. They are calculated based on a points formula that factors in match results, the importance of each game, and the strength of the opponent.
This system not only helps measure the strength of each team but also has a crucial practical use: determining the seeded teams for the World Cup. In this way, FIFA ensures an objective method to distribute teams across groups and maintain competitive balance.
The pots for the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw
In the draw scheduled for December 5 in Washington, the first three seeded teams will be the host nations—United States, Mexico, and Canada—while the remaining nine seeds will be the highest-ranked teams in the FIFA rankings: Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
The same criteria will apply to the remaining pots, but only for teams that have already qualified for the World Cup. In Pot 2 will be the next 12 highest-ranked teams: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, and Australia.
Pot 3 will include Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. Finally, the fourth and final pot will include the remaining qualified teams: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, and New Zealand. They will be joined by the teams that qualify for the World Cup through the playoffs, regardless of their ranking position.
