Argentina captain Lionel Messi lifts the World Cup trophy after the between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium at the Lusail Stadium, north of Doha. Photo: AFP
World champions Argentina strengthened their grip at the top of the FIFA world rankings in the latest list on Thursday, with the top five remaining unchanged after the international break.
Argentina, who dethroned Brazil at the summit in April, remained top after beating Ecuador and Bolivia in their 2026 World Cup qualifiers earlier this month.
Second-placed France, who lost to Germany in a friendly last week, retained second place followed by Brazil (third), England (fourth) and Belgium (fifth).
Portugal were the only team in the top 10 to climb a spot, moving up to eighth, while Italy dropped one place to ninth after a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia in a Euro 2024 qualifier.
Croatia (sixth), Netherlands (seventh) and Spain (10th) complete the top 10, while Morocco (13th), Colombia (16th), Denmark (18th) and Japan (19th) all moved up a place.
The top 20-ranked nations:
1 - Argentina
2 - France
3 - Brazil
4 - England
5 - Belgium
6 - Croatia
7 - Netherlands
8 - Portugal
9 - Italy
10 - Spain
11 - United States
12 - Mexico
13 - Morocco
14 - Switzerland
15 - Germany
16 - Colombia
17 - Uruguay
18 - Denmark
19 - Japan
20 - Senegal
-REUTERS