Thiago Almada of Argentina celebrates with teammates after scoring the team's third goal during the international friendly match between Argentina and Iceland at Jordan-Hare Stadium on June 09, 2026 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Todd Kirkland / AFP)
DOHA: Argentina (1st, up 2), the reigning world champions, will begin their title defence as the world’s top-ranked side after the June Men’s World Ranking was released hours before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on Thursday.
Argentina reclaimed top spot following friendly wins over Iceland and Honduras, overtaking Spain (2nd, unchanged), who were held by Iraq before beating Peru, and France (3rd, down 2), who dropped after defeat to Côte d’Ivoire and victory over Northern Ireland.
Qatar, who lost their friendly against Ireland and played a goalless draw against El Salvador, slipped one place to 56th ahead of their opening Group B clash against Switzerland, who are ranked 19th.
Morocco (7th, up 1) climbed to their highest-ever ranking since 1993, overtaking the Netherlands (8th, down 1).
Mexico (14th, up 1), Uruguay (16th, up 1) and Iran (20th, up 1) all moved up, while Senegal (15th, down 1) and the United States (17th, down 1) slipped.
Hungary (39th, up 3), Chile (51st, up 3) and China PR (91st, up 3) were the biggest climbers, while Serbia (41st, down 4), Mali (55th, down 3) and Benin (93rd, down 3) saw the sharpest falls.
