Argentina rise back to No. 1 after Spain, France stumble in friendlies

Argentina are set to reclaim the No. 1 position in the FIFA world rankings after Spain and France dropped points in their final international fixtures before the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Spain were held to a 1-1 draw by Iraq at Estadio Riazor in La Coruna on Thursday, while France suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat against Ivory Coast at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes. The results are expected to lift the reigning world champions back to the top of the rankings when FIFA releases its next update on Monday.

France had overtaken Spain to move into first place during the March international window. Spain had previously ended Argentina's stay at the top in July 2025, after the South Americans had led the rankings since winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Argentina's return to the summit comes as teams enter the final stages of preparation for next year's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The development also revives a long-standing trend in international football. Since the FIFA rankings were introduced in 1992, no team has entered a World Cup as the world's top-ranked side and gone on to win the tournament.

Germany arrived at the 1994 World Cup as the highest-ranked team but lost out to Brazil. Four years later, Brazil entered the tournament as No. 1 but were beaten by France in the final. France were the top-ranked side heading into the 2002 World Cup, yet Brazil lifted the trophy.

Brazil again topped the rankings before the 2006 and 2010 World Cups but failed to convert that status into titles, with Italy and Spain emerging as champions respectively.

Argentina will now head into the World Cup cycle as the world's highest-ranked team, carrying both the prestige of the top spot and the weight of a historical record that has so far proved difficult to overcome.