FIFA Rankings for All Teams Heading Into World Cup 2026

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off Thursday, with the globe's best soccer teams battling for the most prestigious prize in the sport.

Argentina, Brazil, France, and Spain are among the heavy hitters hoping to etch their names in the history books, while co-host countries the United States, Canada, and Mexico will look play spoiler.

Where do those teams rank among the other participants in this year's field?

Find out in this preview.

Rankings

SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP via Getty Images

1. Argentina

2. Spain

3. France

4. England

5. Portugal

6. Brazil

7. Morocco

8. Netherlands

9. Belgium

10. Germany

11. Croatia

12. Italy

13. Colombia

14. Mexico

15. Senegal

16. Uruguay

17. USA

18. Japan

19. Switzerland

20. Iran

21. Denmark

22. Turkey

23. Ecuador

24. Austria

25. Korea Republic

26. Nigeria

27. Australia

28. Algeria

29. Egypt

30. Canada

31. Norway

32. Ukraine

33. Côte d'Ivoire

34. Panama

35. Russia

36. Poland

37. Wales

38. Sweden

39. Czechia

40. Paraguay

41. Hungary

42. Scotland

43. Serbia

44. Cameroon

45. Congo DR

46. Tunisia

47. Slovakia

51. Uzbekistan

56. Iraq

57. Qatar

60. South Africa

61. Saudi Arabia

63. Jordan

64. Bosnia and Herzegovina

67. Cabo Verde

73. Ghana

82. Curacao

83. Haiti

85. New Zealand

Analysis

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France and Spain are among the best teams in this year's World Cup.

Spain enters play a bit banged up, with its brightest star Lamine Yamal battling a hamstring injury, but the inventive and creative offensive threat has elevated the Spanish front line.The team is an elite scoring unit and should not have trouble finding the net.

That it has incredible depth throughout its roster, including returning defender Eric García, only makes them that much more of an intriguing potential champion.

France, on the other hand, is a defensive-minded team that allowed the fifth-fewest goals in the qualifying round. Not only do they not yield goals, but they score plenty, thanks to high-powered superstar Kylian Mbappé, who is one of the world's best and will be looking to net his country their second World Cup since 2018.

It would be surprising if one of those two teams did not win the World Cup in 2026 but Brazil and Argentina are championship-ready teams capable of outlasting the competition.

Co-host country, the United States, has a tough road ahead to score the homeland victory.

Christian Pulisic leads a gritty team that will make any opponent earn the win. Whether they have the depth and firepower necessary remains to be seen, especially against battle-tested international competition with better scoring, higher-profile stars, and World Cup titles on their resumes.