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Portugal Climb to Fifth Place in FIFA Ranking, the Only Top-10 Side to Rise

Ilija MilosevicOctober 08, 2026· 2 min read

Portugal Climb to Fifth Place in FIFA Ranking, the Only Top-10 Side to Rise

Portugal climbed two places to fifth in the latest FIFA ranking, published on Wednesday, 7 October 2026. They were the only top-10 side to move up.

Top Five in the October Ranking

Spain lead Argentina by 38.77 points. Portugal, on 1807.69, trail fourth-placed England by 117.90 points.

Rank	Team	Points
1	Spain	2011.57
2	Argentina	1972.80
3	France	1958.86
4	England	1925.59
5	Portugal	1807.69

Brazil are sixth and Morocco seventh, each down one place. Switzerland are 12th, up two, passing Germany and Croatia, who each slipped one place. Greece are 41st, up five, after going four games without defeat.

Results from the International Window

Since the World Cup final on Sunday 19 July, 338 men's internationals have been played, the busiest stretch of the post-tournament calendar.

Portugal won all four of their UEFA Nations League matches in this window, Reuters reported. They beat Norway twice, and Wales and Denmark once apiece.

Spain also won four from four, beating England 3-2, Croatia twice and Czechia once. Argentina beat Benin 3-0 on Tuesday 6 October in Lionel Messi's final match for his country.

African Sides: Rises and Sierra Leone's Fall

CAF now has 10 representatives in the top 50. Mali are 47th and South Africa 48th, each up six places. Elsewhere, UEFA has 24 (down 1), CONMEBOL has eight (down 1), and AFC and Concacaf have four each.

Guinea-Bissau gained 35.65 points, more than any other side, climbing eight places to 124th after winning both their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers — 2-0 away to Tanzania on 25 September and 3-0 at home to Nigeria four days later.

Rwanda rose nine places to 119th, beating Cape Verde 2-1 away in the same window. The Gambia are 109th (up seven), Botswana 141st (up six) and Mozambique 98th (up five). Sierra Leone fell eight places to 130th, having lost both of their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The next ranking update is due on Wednesday 18 November 2026.

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