Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterFour Four TwoGet FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.You are now subscribedYour newsletter sign-up was successfulWant to add more newsletters?Five times a weekFourFourTwo DailyFantastic football content straight to your inbox! From the latest transfer news, quizzes, videos, features and interviews with the biggest names in the game, plus lots more.Signup +Once a week...And its LIVE!Sign up to our FREE live football newsletter, tracking all of the biggest games available to watch on the device of your choice. Never miss a kick-off!Signup +Join the clubGet full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in.Subscribe to our newsletterEven as World Cup 2026 draws near, predicting the outcome doesn't get any easier.The FIFA World Rankings are an imperfect but useful way to track the progress of every men's international football team in the world. The 211-team ranking isn't a reliable predictor of future results but it serves up the broad strokes of how the contenders have been getting on.World Cup 2026 is just a couple of months away and the top end of the April update to the FIFA World Rankings reflects the difficulty of fixtures played by the top teams before they name their World Cup squads. You may like World Cup 2026 power rankings: Are Lionel Messi and Argentina still the team to beat? FIFA World Cup 2026: Dates, fixtures, stadiums, tickets and everything you need to know World Cup 2026 Playoffs: The complete guide FIFA World Rankings: the latest points of each international men's team, with World Cup 2026 on the horizonSince 2018, the FIFA World Rankings have been calculated by adding or subtracting points from each team's existing total depending on results in the rankings window, in this case the April update covering fixtures in the second half of March 2026.The weight of additions and deductions is determined in part by the importance of the matches in question and the relative standard of the opposition, as well as factors like extra time and penalty shoot-outs being required.Who are the top-ranked international teams in the world?It's all change at the top of April's FIFA World Rankings, with World Cup 2022 runners-up France jumping two places into first.European champions Spain drop to second and world champions Argentina to third. Argentina won both of their March matches but played Mauritania and Zambia while Les Blues beat Brazil and Colombia.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.England remain in fourth place despite losing to Japan at Wembley in their most recent outing, while Portugal now occupy fifth place ahead of sixth-placed Brazil.Netherlands, Morocco, Belgium and Germany complete the top 10.Who are the top-ranked international teams missing World Cup 2026?The top 10 have all qualified for World Cup 2026 but it doesn't take much digging to find the highest-ranked team to have failed to secure a spot. What to read next World Cup 2026 Golden Boot power rankings: Can Erling Haaland top the scoring charts? When are the final World Cup squads announced? How to get last-minute World Cup tickets as FIFA reveal new 'first-come, first-served' policy After Croatia in 11th place you'll find Italy in 12th. The Azzurri are the ninth-highest team in the UEFA confederation but missed out on the World Cup for the third consecutive tournament after losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties in the play-offs.Italy haven't played a knock-out game at the World Cup since they lifted the trophy in 2006 but their FIFA World Rankings could yet serve them well if Iran have to withdraw from the finals.Who are the lowest-ranked international teams at World Cup 2026?The expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams has brought some first-time qualifiers to the party. While the qualifying matches of lower-ranked teams improve their points totals by definition, there are some qualifiers who are ranked a long way below France.San Marino are the lowest-ranked team in the world in 211st. New Caledonia in 151st were agonisingly close to making the grade as the lowest-ranked World Cup team. Suriname had a decent crack at qualifying too but there will be no teams outside the top 100.The lowest-ranked teams participating at the World Cup will be New Zealand (85th in the world), Haiti (83rd) Curacao (82nd), Ghana (74th), Cape Verde (69th) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (65th).How often has the top-ranked team in the FIFA World Rankings won the World Cup?The FIFA World Rankings began in 1992. Since then, there have been eight completed World Cup finals tournaments.Of those eight, none has been won by the team at the top of the FIFA World Rankings.Brazil, Italy, Spain, Germany, France and Argentina all became world number one on the back of World Cup glory.Who would play at the World Cup if the bottom 48 teams were selected?Turn that table upside down and there's arguably an even more fascinating tournament to be enjoyed. If the bottom 48 teams were assigned to this expanded monolith of a World Cup finals, these are the nations who would be taking part.CubaEswatiniBermudaSt LuciaPapua New GuineaAfghanistanSouth SudanSt Vincent and the GrenadinesMaldivesAndorraChinese TaipeiMontserratNepalCambodiaMauritiusBarbadosBelizeBangladeshDominicaChadEritreaLaosBhutanMongoliaCook IslandsArubaSamoaSri LankaAmerican SamoaBrunei DarussalamMacauCayman IslandsS�o Tom and PrncipeDjiboutiSomaliaTongaTimor-LesteGuamPakistanGibraltarSeychellesTurks and Caicos IslandsLiechtensteinBahamasBritish Virgin IslandsUS Virgin IslandsAnguillaSan MarinoTOPICSWorld CupWorld Cup 2026Chris NeeChris is a Warwickshire-based freelance football writer specialising in West Midlands football, the Premier League, the EFL and the J.League. He is the author of the High Protein Beef Paste football newsletter and owner of Aston Villa Review. He supports Coventry Sphinx.
