World champions Argentina maintained first place in the men’s world football rankings while Germany climbed into crucial ninth place in the latest list issued on Thursday by the ruling body FIFA.
Argentina lead the way from European champions Spain and France in an unchanged top three, with England and Brazil following.
Portugal rose past the Netherlands into sixth by virtue of their Nations League title, with Belgium, Germany and Croatia completing the top 10. Germany and Croatia both rose at the expense of Italy who slipped from ninth to 11th.
Germany climbed despite defeats against Portugal and France at the Nations League finals, because by FIFA rules defeats at final tournaments don’t lead to point deductions in the rankings.
Ninth place is important for the 2026 World Cup draw set for later in the year. The top nine teams from the rankings will be seeded along with the three co-hosts United States, Canada and Mexico, and in this way will avoid another top side in the group stage.
Elsewhere in the rankings, Costa Rica were the biggest riser as they gained 14 places to 40th thanks to a Gold Cup quarter-final berth. Tournament winners Mexico rose four into 13th.