Lamine Yamal’s Spain have surrendered the world No. 1 spot to Kylian Mbappe’s France after a tense 0–0 draw against Egypt in their final March friendly. Despite winning both of their fixtures, Lionel Messi’s Argentina remain in third place, unable to close the gap on the European giants.
The March FIFA window was a massive success for Les Bleus. France faced two high-caliber opponents and emerged victorious in both, defeating Brazil and Colombia. These wins provided a significant points boost, allowing them to leapfrog both Spain and Argentina in the standings.
Conversely, Luis de la Fuente’s men saw their ranking suffer. While they gained 1.94 points from a dominant 3–0 win over Serbia, the subsequent stalemate against Egypt proved costly, resulting in a loss of 2.73 points and the loss of their throne.
Argentina also enjoyed a perfect record this window, but the caliber of their opposition limited their progress. Lionel Scaloni’s men gained only 0.63 points from a 2–1 victory over Mauritania and 0.86 points from a 5–0 thrashing of Zambia. The Albiceleste, who held the top spot for much of the post-World Cup era, now sit firmly in third.
Lionel Messi celebrates a goal for Argentina vs Zambia. (Getty Images)
How each star performed
Mbappe proved to be the catalyst for France’s climb to the top of the FIFA rankings. The Real Madrid forward was in world-class form during the 2–1 victory over Brazil at the Gillette Stadium, where he scored the opening goal and was named Man of the Match, leading Les Bleus through their toughest test of the window.
In Argentina, Messi continued to be the heartbeat of his team during their 5–0 rout of Zambia. The captain provided the assist for Julian Alvarez’s opener before finding the net himself for the second.
In a moment that captured the headlines, Messi waived his chance to score a second from the penalty spot, instead handing the ball to Nicolas Otamendi, allowing the veteran to score in his emotional final appearance for the national team on Argentine soil.
It was a more frustrated window for Yamal and Spain. The Barcelona starlet struggled to make an impact, failing to record a goal or an assist in the 3–0 win over Serbia or the disappointing draw against Egypt.
Beyond the pitch, Yamal made waves by calling out a section of the crowd following controversial chants during the game vs Egypt, marking a difficult end to a window that saw Spain lose their world No. 1 status.
