Lionel Messi and Argentina had to take down Kylian Mbappe and France in the final to win the FIFA World Cup in 2022. Flash-forward to 2025, La Albiceleste continue to compete against Les Bleus for prominence in world soccer.
With the 2026 World Cup drawing nearer, the Qatar 2022 finalists are within touching distance of each other in the top spots of the FIFA world ranking. France overtook Argentina in September, but without Mbappe, they are falling behind Messi’s team again.
Argentina are set to move up to second place in the upcoming update, with France dropping to the third spot. While the reigning world champions won their friendlies against Venezuela and Puerto Rico in October, France were held to a 2-2 draw by Iceland after beating Azerbaijan 3-0 in the UEFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Mbappe’s absence against Iceland proved costly, as the striker had to sit out the game after suffering a knock to his right ankle in the previous match. The Real Madrid star opened the scoring against Azerbaijan but was subbed off after 83 minutes, with a problem that ultimately ruled him out for the following game.
Kylian Mbappe of France and Lionel Messi of Argentina.
When is the next FIFA world ranking update?
FIFA will release the updated world ranking on October 22, when Argentina will officially see the change. It’s great news for Messi and company, who lost the top spot in September at the hands of Lamine Yamal’s Spain after falling to Ecuador in the Conmebol World Cup Qualifiers.
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Until then, Lionel Scaloni’s team held a record of more than two years leading the ranking, which dated back to April 2023 after its World Cup triumph against France in Qatar.
With France failing to claim victory over Iceland as Mbappe had to travel back to Madrid, Argentina managed to beat Venezuela without Messi before the captain returned against Puerto Rico. The FIFA ranking could see more changes in November, March, and June before the 2026 World Cup.
