Spain take the lead, Portugal overtake Brazil in new Fifa rankings

After the September FIFA Date, the highest football authority updated its national team ranking this Thursday (18).

Finishing the Qualifiers with a defeat to Bolivia, by 1-0, pushed Brazil down to sixth place, with Portugal taking over fifth.

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The ranking also has a new top 3. Spain, the current Euro champion, took the lead after thrashing Bulgaria 3-0 and Turkey 6-0, reaching 19 unbeaten matches.

Lamine Yamal’s team overtook Argentina, which dropped to 3rd place after beating Venezuela 3-0 but losing to Ecuador 1-0.

France also climbed and now occupies 2nd place, just behind the Spaniards. The French defeated Ukraine (2-0) and Iceland (2-1), with Kylian Mbappé surpassing Thierry Henry and becoming the second-highest scorer in the national team’s history, with 52 goals.

In the other Top 10 positions, England (4th), Netherlands (7th), and Belgium (8th) kept their spots. Croatia (9th) and Italy (10th) each moved up one position, entering the elite zone of the ranking.

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With that, the updated FIFA Top 10 is as follows:

Spain

France

Argentina

England

Portugal

Brazil

Netherlands

Belgium

Croatia

Italy

The last ranking update was in July, with the following top 10:

Results of the main national teams in the last FIFA Date

Brazil – Already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, hosted Chile at Maracanã and won 3-0, with goals from Estêvão, Lucas Paquetá, and Bruno Guimarães. Then, faced Bolivia in El Alto, lost 1-0, with a penalty converted by Miguelito at the end of the first half.

Spain – The current Euro champion was the big highlight. Beat Bulgaria 3-0 and thrashed Turkey 6-0 away, reaching 19 unbeaten matches.

Portugal – With Cristiano Ronaldo inspired, scored five goals against Armenia and three against Hungary. CR7 scored three goals, reached 943 in his career, and equaled Carlos Ruiz as the top scorer in Qualifiers history, both with 39 goals.

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France – Defeated Ukraine 2-0 and then Iceland 2-1. Mbappé scored twice and surpassed Thierry Henry, becoming the second-highest scorer in the national team’s history, behind only Giroud.

Netherlands – Drew with Poland and beat Lithuania 3-2, with two goals from Memphis Depay. The striker reached 52 goals, surpassed Van Persie, and became the all-time top scorer for the “Clockwork Orange.”

Argentina – Already qualified, beat Venezuela 3-0, in what could be Messi’s farewell to the Argentine fans in official home matches. Then lost to Ecuador 1-0, without their number 10 on the field.

Uruguay – Secured qualification by beating Peru 3-0, with a show from Arrascaeta. Then drew 0-0 with Chile and finished fourth in the Conmebol Qualifiers.

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Germany – Started poorly. Lost for the first time ever to Slovakia (2-0) and only managed to bounce back against Northern Ireland (3-1), with help from the bench. Has three points out of six contested in Group A.

Italy – Starred in the most thrilling match of the FIFA Date: a 5-4 win over Israel, with four goals after the 80th minute. Before that, thrashed Estonia 5-0.

England – Beat Andorra 2-0 and finished the FIFA Date with a 5-0 thrashing of Serbia away. Each goal was scored by a different player, showing collective strength.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 OZAN KOSE - AFP or licensors

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