HAMBURG, GERMANY - JUNE 19: Luka Sucic of Croatia celebrates his team's second goal, an own goal from Klaus Gjasula of Albania (not pictured) during the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Croatia and Albania at Volksparkstadion on June 19, 2024 in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Stuart Franklin - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
A busy international window packed with over 200 matches—ranging from World Cup 2026 qualifiers to regional tournaments—has left its mark on the latest FIFA Men’s World Ranking, with notable movers including Croatia, Mexico, and Costa Rica.
With less than a year until the FIFA World Cup kicks off, Croatia have returned to the elite tier of the global rankings, climbing one spot to 10th and nudging out Italy, who drop two places to 11th. It’s a symbolic shift as the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists continue to rub shoulders with the other global big dogs as they close in on another run at the World Cup crown next summer.
Portugal (6th) and the Netherlands (7th) also swap places, while Belgium (8th) hold steady with Germany (9th) gaining ground behind them.
World champions Argentina remain undisputed at the summit, with Spain and France holding firm in second and third respectively. England (4th) and Brazil (5th) round out an unchanged top five, while the Netherlands’ slip allows Portugal to move up into sixth.
Arguably the biggest movement comes from the CONCACAF region. After lifting the Gold Cup, Mexico have jumped four spots to 13th, reclaiming their status as the region’s top-ranked side, ahead of the United States (15th, up 1). Costa Rica, however, take the prize for the biggest leap overall—vaulting 14 places to 40th after reaching the quarter-finals of the same tournament.
Gold Cup semi-finalists Honduras (66th, up 9) and Guatemala (100th, up 6) also enjoyed a rankings bump, while Canada (28th, up 2) reached their highest-ever position, continuing their steady rise as a regional powerhouse.
Senegal (18th, up 1) and Switzerland (19th, up 1) both made minor gains to consolidate top-20 positions. Several other teams—such as Norway (33rd), Paraguay (43rd), North Macedonia (62nd), and Zambia (83rd)—all jumped five places thanks to strong recent form.
Amongst AFC-affiliated sides, modest but encouraging upward movement was seen from Malaysia (125th, up 6), Hong Kong (147th, up 6), Indonesia (118th, up 5), and Laos (185th, up 5).
Kosovo (95th, up 2) continued to rise for the second straight update, matching their highest-ever ranking. Like Canada, they’ve steadily climbed the international ladder, showing the increasing competitiveness of emerging national teams across the globe.
Insideworldfootball.com
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