FIFA Year-end Rankings: Spain Stays No. 1; Colombia remains 13th

FIFA released the final men’s world rankings of the year, leaving Spain atop the list and showing little movement among the elite while several nations farther down the table registered notable gains. Colombia, which beat New Zealand and Australia in recent friendlies, remained at 13th and will not be enough to be a top-seed at the World Cup draw next month.

The top four in the November list are unchanged from October, Spain, Argentina, France, and England. Brazil rose two places to fifth, leapfrogging Portugal, which dropped to sixth; the Netherlands sits seventh. Croatia returned to the top 10 in tenth place, taking advantage of Italy’s slip, the Azzurri fell out of the top 10 and now rank 12th after a 4-1 home loss to Norway. That defeat secured Norway’s qualification to the 2026 World Cup.

Colombia, which completed two international friendlies with wins over New Zealand and Australia, held steady at 13th in the FIFA rankings. That position puts the Tricolor in Pot 2 for the World Cup draw and short of the top-seed status the team has targeted ahead of the tournament.

The US is just one spot behind Colombia in the official FIFA rankings 

The United States, one of the 2026 World Cup hosts, moved up into 14th, passing Mexico (15th). FIFA notes that both are the highest-ranked Concacaf teams in the list.

Among other movements noted by FIFA, Nigeria rose to 38th and Tunisia to 40th. Uzbekistan returned to the top 50 at 50th place for the first time since October 2016. The report also highlights several teams that climbed five places: the Philippines (136th), Turkmenistan (137th), and Malta (161st). Kosovo, at 80th, set another record high and is positioned to be one of the biggest movers by year’s end, FIFA said.

The football governing body’s ranking provides a snapshot of relative form and will be used in December’s World Cup draw to determine seeded positions and group pots. Colombia’s unchanged standing after two wins means it will head into the draw without the protection that a top-four or top-eight seed can provide, leaving the team to hope for favorable fortune in Washington on Dec. 5.

FIFA announced the path for the remaining 2026 World Cup spots

In addition to the rankings, FIFA announced the full draw for the remaining World Cup 2026 playoff routes, laying out four European paths and two intercontinental paths that will decide the last places at next summer’s tournament.

In Path A, Italy will host Northern Ireland in one semifinal while Wales will host Bosnia-Herzegovina in the other. The Path A final will be played at the home of the winner of Wales–Bosnia against the winner of Italy–Northern Ireland. Path B pairs Ukraine against Sweden, with Ukraine set to host that semifinal, and Poland against Albania, with Poland hosting. The Path B final will be hosted by the winner of Ukraine–Sweden and will pit that team against the winner of Poland–Albania.

In Path C, Turkey will host Romania in one semi-final, and Slovakia will host Kosovo in the other; the winners of those two matches will meet to decide the qualifier from that path. Path D features Denmark hosting North Macedonia in one semi-final and the Czech Republic hosting the Republic of Ireland in the other. The Path D final will see the winner of the Czech Republic–Ireland host the winner of Denmark–North Macedonia.

The two intercontinental playoff paths will be staged in Mexico. In Path 1, New Caledonia will face Jamaica in a semifinal, with the winner advancing to play DR Congo in the Path 1 final. In Path 2, Bolivia will meet Suriname in a semifinal; the winner will go on to face Iraq in the Path 2 final.

FIFA said the European semifinals are scheduled for March 26, with the final on March 31. The intercontinental semi-finals are set for March 23, with their finals also slated for March 31. Each European path consists of two single-match semis (seeded teams host) followed by a one-match final; the winner of each path earns a spot at the World Cup. The intercontinental routes use a similar short knockout format, with two semifinals feeding into seeded-team finals to determine the final qualifiers.