All 32 World Cup 2022 teams by FIFA ranking with Argentina not in No 1

Argentina lifted their third World Cup title as Qatar 2022 champions. But La Albiceleste are not the number one ranked nation in the world after FIFA updated its rankings. So, who is?

Well, FIFA has only moved the South Americans up to second in its post-World Cup ranking table. The international governing body of the game had Argentina third behind Brazil and Belgium going into Qatar 2022. They have not been the top-ranked side since March 2017.

FIFA last ranked Argentina in second in its world rankings in June 2017 behind Brazil. While Belgium spent 41 months as the top seed from October 2018 to March 2022 when ousted by Brazil. France only spent two months at No 1 after winning the 2018 Russia World Cup.

Argentina wins World Cup — Photo by Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Who is No 1 in FIFA rankings? Argentina are only second after winning the World Cup

Argentina are now again No 2 to Brazil in No 1 after FIFA updated its rankings following the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The governing body issued its full list on Thursday, December 22 after La Albiceleste beat defending champions France on penalties in the final on the 18th.

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Brazil retained the No 1 spot with 1840.77 ranking points to Argentina on 1838.38, despite the Selecao crashing out of Qatar 2022 in the quarter-finals. Tite’s squad lost to Croatia on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time. Vatreni would then crash out to Argentina.

France, meanwhile, rise from fourth to take third at the expense of Belgium, who dropped from second to fourth. The Red Devils endured a miserable spell at Qatar 2022 and failed to get out of Group F. Roberto Martinez’s squad took one win and also scored just one goal.

FIFA only keeps three of the top 10 in the same places in its new world rankings

Like Brazil, England and Portugal are the only other non-movers among the top 10 in FIFA’s updated world rankings. The Three Lions have remained in fifth place and the Selecao are in ninth after they lost in the quarter-finals against France 2-1 and Morocco 1-0 respectively.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, climb up from eight to sixth as Croatia shoot up from 12th to seventh, Italy fall from sixth to eighth and Spain drop from seventh to 10th to make up the top 10. Denmark fall out of the top 10 from 10th place all the way down to just 18th.

Denmark were another team who endured a horrid time in the Middle East during the first winter World Cup. De Rod-Hvide returned home after finishing Group D in fourth. They got just one single point and only managed to score one to three goals conceded in three ties.

Group A: The Netherlands climb FIFA’s rankings after finishing as the No 1

The Netherlands gained two spots in FIFA’s updated rankings after topping Group A at the World Cup and going on to feature in the quarter-finals. But Oranje found Argentina in the way and bowed out of the tournament on penalties following a 2-2 draw after extra time.

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Senegal, meanwhile, are now the No 19 ranked nation in FIFA’s updated table after losing one spot. The Lions of Teranga arrived in Qatar as the No 18 ranked team in the world but lost 3-0 to England during the Round of 16. They also finished second in Group A to Oranje.

Ecuador and Qatar failed to make it out of Group A and are now the No 41 and 62 teams in the world. La Tricolor were 44th going into the tournament and the Maroon were 50th but became the worst host nation ever by bowing out of the World Cup after just two fixtures.

Group B: England stay at No 5 as Wales lose nine spots in FIFA’s rankings

England reaching the quarter-finals before losing to eventual finalists France saw Gareth Southgate’s side remain fifth. But Wales have lost nine spots from 19th to 28th after they failed to clear Group B. Cymru finished bottom of the pack with one point and one goal.

The USA, on the other hand, finished second in Group B before losing to the Netherlands in the last 16. They are now the No 13 ranked team in the world, gaining three from their pre-tournament position of 16th. The USA were only last in 13th place back in February 2022.

Iran, meanwhile, finished third in Group B after bouncing back from the 6-2 defeat against England to beat Wales 2-0. Team Melli then lost 1-0 to the USA to miss out on a spot in the Round of 16. Their form has seen Iran now fall to No 24 after entering Qatar 2022 in 21st.

World Cup teams by FIFA ranking — Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/Defodi Images via Getty Images

Group C: Argentina are not No 1 in FIFA’s rankings despite winning the World Cup

Argentina went into the World Cup fourth in FIFA’s rankings and are still not No 1 despite winning the title. Now, though, La Albiceleste are just 2.39 points behind Brazil for the top spot. They had arrived in Qatar holding a 67.31-point deficit to their South American rivals.

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Poland finished second in Group C and are now the No 22 ranked nation after they lost 3-1 to France in the Round of 16. The Bialo-Czerwoni gained four places after travelling to the Middle East as the No 26 ranked team in FIFA’s pre-tournament table with 1548.59 points.

Mexico, meanwhile, fall two places to 15th after enduring their worst World Cup since the 1978 tournament in Argentina. El Tri had not crashed out of the tournament in the group stage in their seven appearances in between. But Mexico finished third in Group C in 2022.

Saudi Arabia finished last in Group C, though, with all four sides separated by just the three points. They also beat Argentina in their opening match after coming from a goal behind to win 2-1. FIFA now ranks the Green Falcons in 49th after entering Qatar 2022 in 51st place.

Group D: France are back in the top three after finishing second at Qatar 2022

France are back in the top three of the FIFA rankings after replacing Belgium with a second-place finish at Qatar 2022. Les Bleus topped Group D on two wins but lost to Tunisia with a very changed XI. They beat Poland, England and Morocco to make the final with Argentina.

But while France have climbed from fourth to third, Group D runners-up Australia are one of the biggest movers. The Socceroos have shot up 11 places from 38th to 27th after losing to Argentina in the Round of 16. La Albiceleste could only win their clash with Australia 2-1.

Tunisia, meanwhile, have not moved from 30th place after they finished third in Group D. As for Denmark, De Rod-Hvide have fallen from 10th place to 18th after their dreary campaign in Qatar. They were one of five teams who failed to win a single game in the group stage.

Group E: Japan enjoyed causing a shock against Germany and Spain

Japan were one of the surprise packages at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as they beat two former champions, Germany and Spain. The Samurai Blue also trailed in each game before mounting a comeback to win 2-1. Yet they lost 1-0 to Costa Rica in between their victories.

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A Round of 16 defeat on penalties to Croatia followed after a 1-1 draw in which they led at half-time. Their run saw FIFA move Japan up from 24th place to 20th. While Spain fell from seventh to 10th after finishing as runners-up before then losing to Morocco on penalties.

La Roja dominated the flow of their Round of 16 tie with the Atlas Lions yet failed to find a breakthrough as it ended 0-0. But at least they cleared Group E – the only group to feature two former champions – as Germany fell from 11th to 14th as they failed clear the hurdle.

Germany missed out on the knockout stages on goal difference to Spain with both ending up with four points. Costa Rica, meanwhile, lost to both on either side of beating Japan to finish last. FIFA now has Los Ticos in 32nd place in its updated standings, down from 31st.

Croatia v Morocco: 3rd Place - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 — Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images

Group F: Morocco are the biggest movers after a fairy-tale campaign

Along with Australia, Morocco are the biggest movers in FIFA’s updated world rankings of the 32 teams to feature at Qatar 2022 after enjoying a fairy-tale World Cup campaign. The Atlas Lions became the first African nation ever to reach the semi-finals of any World Cup.

Morocco started their World Cup by topping Group F from defeated 2018 finalists Croatia, plus Belgium and Canada. The Atlas Lions then knocked out Spain and beat Portugal 1-0. But France were a step too far in the semi-finals and Croatia won the third-place play-off.

Now, FIFA ranks Morocco as the best African country in 11th place – up from 22nd. While Croatia have climbed from 12th to seventh, Belgium fell from second to fourth and Canada fall from 41st to 53rd. No nation lost more places (12) than the Maple Leafs and Qatar did.

Group G: FIFA still has Brazil as No 1 in its rankings after the World Cup

FIFA still has Brazil as the No 1 nation in its updated rankings after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Even though the Selecao only won two of their three games en route to first place in Group G. The South Americans also beat South Korea 4-1 before then losing to Croatia.

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Switzerland, meanwhile, finished second in Group G before Portugal smashed Nati 6-1 in the Round of 16. Now, FIFA ranks Switzerland in 12th place, which is an increase of three on their pre-tournament position of 15th. They have not been this high since July 2020.

Cameroon, meanwhile, beat Brazil 1-0 in their final Group G game but still finished in third. Yet their result against the Selecao sees the Indomitable Lions shoot up from 43rd place to 33rd. They were in just 50th place in December 2021 and have not been higher since 2017.

Serbia, however, have dropped eight places to 29th after finishing last in Group G. Orlovi lost 2-0 and 3-2 to Brazil and Switzerland on either side of a 3-3 draw against Cameroon. Their eight goals conceded was the second most in the group stage to Costa Rica with 11.

Group H: Portugal remain unchanged as South Korea and Ghana gain places

No nation arrived at Qatar 2022 holding a lower FIFA ranking than Ghana, who sat in 61st place. Yet the Black Stars almost made the knockouts before losing to Uruguay in their last fixture. FIFA now ranks Ghana in 58th place as they lost to Portugal and beat South Korea.

Portugal, meanwhile, remain unchanged in ninth place after reaching the quarter-finals at Qatar 2022. They had finished top of Group H with six points after two wins but lost 2-1 to South Korea after leading. They also thrashed Switzerland 6-1 before they lost to Morocco.

South Korea, meanwhile, finished second after scoring twice in second-half stoppage-time to beat Portugal. But the Taegeuk Warriors then fell to Brazil in the Round of 16. Now, FIFA ranks the Asian nation in 25th place – up three spots from their pre-Qatar position of 28th.

Uruguay were also on the move as the two-time World Cup champions dropped from 14th to 16th place. The 1930 and 1950 winners fell two places after finishing third in Group H to fail to make the knockout stages. South Korea (4) pipped Uruguay (2) only on goals scored.