Spain has concluded 2025 as the top-ranked men's national team in the world according to the latest FIFA rankings. The final rankings of the year, published on December 22, 2025, reflect a year of strong performances from the Spanish side, who reclaimed the top spot from Argentina in September.
"La Roja" ends the year with 1877.18 points, narrowly edging out Argentina, the reigning world champions, who sit in second place with 1873.33 points. France comes in third with 1870.00 points.
The top 10 sees little change. England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Croatia remain in the same positions as the previous month.
Spain's journey to the top spot included an undefeated run in normal time across their ten matches played this year. The only defeat was on penalties to Portugal in the UEFA Nations League final. They also won their first five FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers without conceding a goal, including a 6-0 victory over Türkiye and a 4-0 win against Bulgaria.
The latest FIFA rankings considered the results of 42 international matches, with the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 contributing significantly to the movement in the rankings. Morocco, who won the Arab Cup, are just outside the top 10, in 11th place, and close to breaking into the top 10 for the first time since April 1998. Jordan, who finished as runners-up in the Arab Cup, jumped two places to 64th.
Kosovo made the most significant progress overall in 2025, gaining 89.02 ranking points and rising 19 places to 80th. Vietnam climbed three spots to 107th, which FIFA noted as the biggest leap in the latest rankings.
Other notable climbers include Suriname (up 15 places) and Norway (up 14 places).
The distribution of the top 50 teams by confederation remains largely unchanged from the end of last year. UEFA has 26 nations, CONMEBOL and CAF each have seven, Concacaf and the AFC each have five, and the OFC has none.
Spain is placed in Group H for the 2026 World Cup, along with Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, and Cape Verde.
The next FIFA rankings will be published on January 18, 2026.
