Spain first, Iraq last: FIFA sets World Cup 2026 ranks
Shafaq News
Spain topped FIFA’s final World Cup 2026 classification after winning the title, while Iraq finished 48th and last in the first edition contested by this many national teams.
Argentina placed second after losing the final 1-0 after extra time, followed by England and France, with Norway completing the top five after eliminating Brazil on their way to the quarterfinals.
Morocco led the Arab and African teams in seventh place, while Egypt ranked 15th after reaching the Round of 16 and Algeria finished 30th.
Cape Verde emerged as one of the tournament’s biggest surprises, placing 32nd after advancing from the group stage on their World Cup debut and pushing defending champions Argentina in a 3-2 Round-of-32 defeat.
Brazil ended 11th following their elimination by Norway, one place above co-hosts the United States, who finished 12th after a 4-1 Round-of-16 loss to Belgium. Germany ranked 18th after Paraguay knocked them out on penalties in the Round of 32, while the Netherlands finished 17th and Portugal 13th.
Among the other regional teams, Iran placed 33rd, Saudi Arabia 38th, Qatar 41st, Jordan 44th, and Tunisia 47th.
FIFA ranked teams first by the stage they reached, then separated those eliminated in the same round by total tournament points, goal difference, and goals scored. Matches decided by penalty shootouts counted as draws.
