FIFA rankings: France lose their No 1 spot before the World Cup
The stay at the top was brief. Just two months after reclaiming the summit of the FIFA rankings, France have already been pushed off the throne. Beaten by Ivory Coast in a warm-up match (2-1), Les Bleus have dropped two places and head into the 2026 World Cup in third worldwide.
It is a shift that comes only days before the tournament starts, but for now it is mostly a matter of pride. On the pitch, nothing changes for Didier Deschamps’ men. On paper, though, Argentina are back at No 1 while Spain have climbed to second.
A defeat that hurts France
France’s slide comes straight from this week’s loss to Ivory Coast. It was a match with nothing riding on it in the standings, but the fallout was immediate in FIFA’s calculations. In April, France had gone top thanks to wins over Brazil and Colombia. Two results that had seen them move ahead of their direct rivals.
This time, the trend has gone the other way. The points dropped against the Elephants were enough for Argentina to retake control, even though the Albiceleste have not played since their big win over Zambia in the spring. Spain have also benefited. Held by Iraq in their last warm-up game, La Roja still limited the damage and have now moved above France in the FIFA rankings.
The order could still change again. Before kick-off at the World Cup, France still have Northern Ireland to play, while Argentina and Spain also have one final tune-up left.
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Top spot does not usually bring much luck
Losing No 1 days before a World Cup might look like a bad omen. History, though, says otherwise. Since the FIFA rankings were created in 1993, no team sitting top before the start of a World Cup has gone on to lift the trophy a few weeks later. Brazil found that out more than once. More recently, they were still No 1 heading into the 2022 World Cup before Croatia sent them out in the quarter-finals.
France know the stat well. In 2018, when they won the World Cup in Russia, they were only seventh in the rankings. By contrast, some French teams have gone into major tournaments as No 1 and still fallen short. Deschamps will not waste much time on that sort of thing. The coach wants a reaction from his squad after the defeat to Ivory Coast. With less than two weeks to go before they face Senegal, the focus is on far more pressing matters than ranking points.
The real verdict starts on 16 June. And then the FIFA table will not matter much at all. Of Argentina, Spain and France, who goes deepest?
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