ByJonty Colman
BBC Sport journalist
The Fifa Men's world rankings are used to decide the ranking order of the best national teams in world football.
First introduced in 1992, the system is used to depict how strong a team is, and the position of those rankings can be used in tournaments to determine seeding positions in World Cups and more.
Only eight nations have ever led the world rankings. France are currently top, while Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain have also spent time at the top of the table.
A points system is used to determine the rankings of nations and since 2018, has adopted the ‘Elo’ rating system that is used in chess.
BBC Sport have looked at how the rankings work and where every nation competing at the 2026 World Cup is currently ranked.
How do the Fifa world rankings work?
Image source, Getty Images
England are ranked fourth place ahead of the start of the 2026 Fifa World Cup
Since the introduction of the Elo system, the Fifa ranking points of each nation are adapter after every single match they play.
In short, the more important a match is and the more difficult an opponent is, the more ranking points are on offer for that match.
Fifa uses the following equation to work out how many ranking points are on offer for each specific match.
P = Pbefore + I(W – We)
P – nation's ranking points after that match
Pbefore – nation's ranking points prior to that match
I – Importance coefficient of that match, ranked between 5 and 60
W – The result of a match, with 0 for a draw, 1 for a win, 0.5 for a draw or penalty shootout defeat and 0.75 for a penalty shootout victory
We – Expected result of a game based on the equation (1/10exp(-(difference in teams ratings before match)/600) +1)))
Where are the 2026 World Cup nations in Fifa's World Rankings?
Of the 48 nations competing at the 2026 World Cup, 40 of them are ranked in the top 48 of the men's Fifa World Rankings.
That includes all of the top 11 and 18 of the top 20, with only Italy (12th) and Denmark (20th) failing to qualify.
New Zealand (85th) are the lowest-ranked nation competing, while debutants Curacao (82nd) and Haiti (83rd) also sit outside the world's top 80.
Co-hosts Mexico (15th), United States (16th) and Canada (30th) are all ranked inside the world's top 30.
The full ranking of qualified teams is as follows:
1. France
2. Spain
3. Argentina
4. England
5. Portugal
6. Brazil
7. Netherlands
8. Morocco
9. Belgium
10. Germany
11. Croatia
13. Colombia
14. Senegal
15. Mexico
16. United States of America
17. Uruguay
18. Japan
19. Switzerland
21. Iran
22. Turkey
23. Ecuador
24. Austria
25. South Korea
27. Australia
28. Algeria
29. Egypt
30. Canada
31. Norway
33. Panama
34. Ivory Coast
38. Sweden
40. Paraguay
41. Czech Republic
43. Scotland
44. Tunisia
46. DR Congo
50. Uzbekistan
55. Qatar
57. Iraq
60. South Africa
61. Saudi Arabia
63. Jordan
65. Bosnia and Herzegovina
69. Cape Verde
74. Ghana
82. Curacao
83. Haiti
85. New Zealand
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
