- Argentina cement spot at the top
- Liberia are the biggest climbers
Argentina retain their place at the summit of the of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking, with World Cup qualifiers yielding significant gains elsewhere.
Between the AFC, CAF and Concacaf qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 26™ and the warm-up matches ahead of UEFA EURO 2024, the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024 and the OFC Men’s Nations Cup, there has been no shortage of international action since the previous edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking was published in April.
No fewer than 187 national team bouts have been contested since then, and the throng of changes in the latest standings therefore come as no surprise.
The top three, however, remain unshakeable. Argentina (1st) retain their place at the summit, with France (2nd) and Belgium (3rd) hot on their heels. But there is movement behind them, as Brazil (4th, up 1) and England (5th, down 1) swap places. Meanwhile, Portugal (6th), the Netherlands (7th) and Spain (8th) consolidate their spots in the top ten, whilst Croatia (9th, up 1) overtake Italy (10th, down 1), who nonetheless hold onto a place among the leading pack.
And there are changes aplenty elsewhere in the top 100. Surges by Ghana (64th, up 4), Honduras (78th, up 4), Haiti (86th, up 4), Curaçao (87th, up 4) and Benin (91st, up 6) are among the most eye-catching, but Namibia (97th, up 9) eclipse them all, hurtling themselves up nine places.
It is a similar story in the second half of the ranking, with Mozambique (103rd, up 7), Madagascar (104th, up 5), Korea DPR (110th, up 8), Sudan (121st, up 6), Nicaragua (130th, up 5) and Gibraltar (198th, up 5) all seeing positive performances rewarded. But it is Liberia (142nd, up 10) who have gained the most ground over the period, with the Lone Stars still unbeaten in 2024.
Matches played in the continental competitions recently under way in Europe and Oceania are not included in the calculations for June’s edition of the standings.
