FIFA Rankings for All Teams Heading Into World Cup 2026

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off Sunday, 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. France

2. Spain

3. Brazil

4. Argentina

5. England

6. Netherlands

7. Germany

8. Portugal

9. Croatia

10. Colombia

11. Moracco

12. Uruguay

13. Senegal

14. Egypt

15. Belgium

16. South Korea

17. Mexico

18. Ecuador

19. Norway

20. Switzerland

21. United States

22. Ivory Coast

23. Japan

24. Turkey

25. Australia

26. Algeria

27. Austria

28. Canada

29. Paraguay

30. Ghana

31. Iran

32. Scotland

33. Sweden

34. Panama

35. South Africa

36. Saudi Arabia

37. Tunisia

38. Czech Republic

39. Qatar

40. Uzbekistan

41. New Zealand

42. Democratic Republic of the Congo

43. Jordan

44. Curacao

45. Bosnia and Herzegovina

46. Cape Verde

47. Iraq

48. Haiti

Analysis

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The two best teams in this year's World Cup are France and Spain and at any given time of the day or week, they could easily flip-flop at the top of the list.

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.