FIFA rankings for all 48 World Cup teams: How are they calculated and when are they updated?

FIFA rankings are a unique way to measure how national teams compare to each other and can prove important when it comes to tournaments like a World Cup.

Draws for such events are influenced by rankings, with the best teams separated from facing each other in the group stages.

This means nations with lower rankings are often drawn in tougher groups and have an even tougher task to win the overall tournament.

FIFA rankings aren't perfect and have come in for criticism in recent years, but they do provide a solid and reliable overview of a side's general consistency and how they'll likely fair come World Cup time.

FIFA rankings for all 32 World Cup teams

As the 2026 World Cup nears, Spain are hoping to maintain their status as the world No.1. They have been in the top spot since September 2025 when they jumped up from No. 2 to take over from Argentina.

As it currently stands, the lowest-ranked team in the 2026 World Cup field is New Zealand, who stand at 85th in the world. That could change if the likes of Suriname or New Caledonia manage to shock at the Intercontinental Playoff and qualify for the tournament.

Italy (13th) are the highest ranked side not to have yet qualified, although they still may get through via the UEFA playoff.

Which teams have been world number one?

Only eight nations to date have been crowned world number one.

Germany were top when rankings were first introduced with Brazil eventually replacing them.

From there, Italy, France, Argentina, Spain, Netherlands, and Belgium have all also enjoyed stints as world number one.

France and Belgium became the first nations to share top spot when they did so briefly in late 2018.

Does the top-ranked side win the World Cup?

Surprisingly, the team ranked number one going into the World Cup has never won the tournament.

Rankings have only been active since the 1994 World Cup, where Germany went in as leaders only to be replaced by eventual winners Brazil.

In 1998, Brazil were still number one but were beaten 3-0 by France in that year's World Cup final.

France were then top during the 2002 World Cup only for Brazil to bounce back and lift the title.

Brazil were world number one going into the 2006 and 2010 tournaments but Italy and Spain both triumphed on those occasions.

Spain were then top going into 2014 when Germany triumphed, who themselves were number one in 2018 when France took out the title.

This trend has continued in 2022 with top-ranked Brazil knocked out in the quarterfinals, with third-ranked Argentina triumphing at the end of the competition.