The latest rankings see little movement after just 42 international fixtures (compared to 149 games in the November rankings period), with the FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar centre stage. The top 33 teams are unchanged with Algeria moving up to No. 34, swapping places with Egypt.
Spain, which took over No. 1 from Argentina in September, remains in top spot ahead of Argentina, France, England and Brazil. Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Croatia make up the rest of the top 10.
Morocco, winner of the FIFA Arab Cup, stands No. 11, just shy of breaking into the top 10 for the first time since April 1998.
Jordan, which lost 3-2 to Morocco after extra time in the Arab Cup final, moves up two spots to No. 64 while No. 107 Vietnam and No. 148 Singapore each climb three places.
Kosovo is the year’s biggest mover, finishing 2025 at No. 80 — an improvement of 19 places from the 2024 year-end. Kosovo went 7-1-2 in 2025
No. 29 Norway and No. 123 Suriname both have climbed 15 places since the December 2024 rankings.
The other World Cup co-hosts were unchanged with the U.S. at No. 14 and Mexico at No. 15. Canada remains third in North and Central America and the Caribbean, above No. 30 Panama.
—
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 22, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press