Open this photo in gallery:

Defender Alistair Johnston, front, was a key part of Canada’s groundbreaking first run to the World Cup round of 16.Emma Peterson/The Associated Press

Canada finished 14th in the final World Cup tournament standings, up from 31st four years ago in Qatar.

That marked improvement wasn’t enough to change Canada’s spot in FIFA’s latest world rankings. Canada remained unchanged at No. 30, between Algeria and the Ivory Coast.

The Canadian men have ranked as high as No. 26, in September, 2025, and as low as No. 122, in August and October, 2014.

In the tournament rankings, champion Spain stands at No. 1, as expected, ahead of runner-up Argentina, then England, France and Norway. Belgium was sixth and Morocco and Switzerland tied for seventh, with co-host Mexico and Colombia completing the top 10.

Co-host Canada is sandwiched between No. 13 Portugal and No. 15 Egypt. The co-host Americans stand 12th, behind Brazil.

When the Canadian men finished 31st four years ago, they were above only host Qatar in the 32-team field. Iraq occupies the bottom spot among the 48 teams this time.

Cathal Kelly: Messi’s near-perfect World Cup has him as close to the top as he can get. There’s no better time to retire

FIFA uses the following criteria to rank teams that exited the competition at the same stage:

– Total number of points from matches across all stages (matches that go to a penalty shootout count as draws).

– Goal difference from matches across all stages.

– Number of goals scored from matches across all stages.

Open this photo in gallery:

Canada’s players were disconsolate after losing in the round of 16 to Morocco, but they set a number of important milestones for the program along the way.Eric Gay/The Associated Press

If two or more teams are still tied after applying such criteria, they share the same final rank.

Canada’s tournament ended July 4 in Houston with a 3-0 loss to Morocco in the round of 16.

The Canadian men registered several tournament firsts along the way: a first-ever point (in a 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina), first group-stage win (6-0 over Qatar), first knockout-phase appearance and first knockout win (1-0 over South Africa) and record number of goals (nine).

FIFA’s updated world rankings came one day after Spain dethroned Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the final in East Rutherford, N.J.

Economic benefits of Canada’s hosting gig were muted, data show

The FIFA world rankings are determined by game results, using an algorithm that takes into account the strength of the opponent and importance of the match, among other factors.

Spain took over top spot in the new rankings, dropping Argentina to No. 2.

France and England remained No. 3 and 4, respectively, while Brazil and Morocco each moved up one rung to No. 5 and 6, respectively, at the expense of Portugal, which slipped two spots to No. 7.

Belgium climbed one spot to No. 8, dropping the Netherlands to No. 9 while Mexico jumped four places to complete the top 10.

Norway was the biggest mover in Monday’s list, vaulting 12 spots to No. 19.

Other teams headed in the right direction were Switzerland (No. 14, up five), Egypt (No. 24, up five), Paraguay (No. 34, up seven), DR Congo (No. 41, up five), South Africa (No. 54, up six) and Ghana (No. 65, up eight).

Heading in the other direction were Turkey (No. 27, down five), South Korea (No. 32, down seven), Panama (No. 44, down 10), Czechia (No. 48, down eight), Tunisia (No. 57, down 12) and Uzbekistan (No. 60, down 10).

There were 105 matches played since the last FIFA rankings were released June 11, with 104 of those coming at the World Cup. The next official rankings are scheduled for Oct. 7.