The 2026 World Cup is coming into its closing phases, with simply eight groups remaining and the quarterfinals set to start on Thursday, July ninth. Within the newest FIFA Rankings replace forward of the subsequent spherical, Kylian Mbappe‘s France has moved again to the highest, nudging Lionel Messi’s Argentina off the summit.
Mbappe was the difference-maker in France‘s 1-0 Spherical of 16 win over Paraguay, changing the decisive penalty. The victory earned Les Bleus 9.26 further rating factors, pushing their whole to 1,925.86 and returning them to first place.
Argentina, in the meantime, engineered a surprising comeback to advance, overturning a 2-0 deficit in opposition to Egypt to win 3-2 in one other Messi masterclass. The victory was not sufficient to carry onto prime spot within the rankings, nonetheless, and the Albiceleste now sit second with 1,925.15 factors.
Argentina had entered the event ranked first after France’s shock group-stage loss to Ivory Coast despatched Les Bleus tumbling to 3rd behind Spain. With each nations now among the many final eight, the factors accrued within the knockout rounds have been sufficient to flip the order, with France now main Argentina by simply 0.71 factors.
Kylian Mbappe #10 of France walks off the pitch.
Six of the highest 10 nations stay within the quarterfinals
The 2026 World Cup quarterfinals have already made historical past, marking the primary time Brazil, Germany, and Italy are all absent at this stage of the competitors. Regardless of that shake-up, six of the eight remaining groups have been ranked contained in the FIFA Rankings‘ prime 10 earlier than the event started.
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Argentina (1st), Spain (2nd), France (third), England (4th), Morocco (seventh), and Belgium (ninth) all entered the World Cup among the many world’s elite. The 2 sides who gate-crashed the social gathering are Switzerland, who got here in ranked nineteenth with 1,650.06 factors, and Norway, Erling Haaland’s facet, who have been thirty first with 1,557.44 factors.
FIFA Rankings prime 10 forward of the World Cup quarterfinals
France — 1925.86 factors.Argentina — 1925.15 factors.Spain — 1912.34 factors.England — 1871.39 factors.Brazil — 1804.92 factors.Morocco — 1803.99 factors.Portugal — 1787.85 factors.Belgium — 1778.36 factors.Netherlands — 1775.54 factors.Mexico — 1754.30 factors.
