World Cup Rankings 2026

Welcome back to my listing of the best teams in World Cup 2026 after the completion after the Quarterfinals.  I am only evaluating the teams based on their Quarterfinal round matchup - ONLY.  How did the team look during its win?  Round of 16 games, round of 32 games, Group stage and pre-World Cup rankings DO NOT MATTER!.

But before we get to the rankings, I wanted to share my Top 8 list of things to happen during the Round of 16 (or that occurred in the interim between the second game and the upcoming third games.) 

8.  Thibault Courtois injury - The Belgian goalkeeper, whom any consider the best in the world right now, left the game against Spain in the 71st minute due to a thigh injury.  Mikel Merino of Spain, then proceeded to jump on a rebound to slot home the winner in the 88th minute - a rebound you could never convince me that Courtois would have given up.  But alas, we will never know.  And this after losing star Youri Teilemans to injury in the pregame warmup.

7.  VARgentina - I don't necessarily buy into this, but there is so much belief in the world that FIFA is trying to hand this Cup to Argentina that this nickname is trending - or whatever is more than trending - online.

6.  Kylian Mbappe/Ousmane Dembele - The current Golden Boot leader and the reigning Ballon d'Or recipient are the most dangerous combination in this World Cup, and they both scored in France's 2-0 win over Morocco.

5.  With England's 2-1 victory over Norway, and England's first victory over Vikings since the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, we lose the Norwegian fans, but not before one last huge VIKING ROW in which Mexican future star Gilberto Mora joined!

4.  Spanish Super Sub Mikel Merino (that is a whole lot of literation!) enters the game against Brazil in the 86th minute and scored the game winner in the 88th winner.  This is the second-consecutive game in which Merino entered late and scored the game winner, having scored the lone goal in Spain's 1-0 win over Iberian rival Portugal.

This reminds me ....

Does anybody besides me that is not Italian remember Salvatore Schillaci?  Schillaci was perhaps THE Super Sub in World Cup history - plying his trade in 1990 World Cup in his home country of Italy.  In the Azzuri's first game against Austria, Schillaci subs in and scores the only goal of the game late.  In the next game against Czechoslovakia, he scores again!  Proving too much of a force to keep on the bench, Schillaci was given the starting nod up to next to the vaunted Roberto Baggio, but did not score.  Schillaci started again in the Round of 16 against Uruguay, but this time as an attacking midfielder, scoring the first goal midway through the second period as Italy won 2-0.  In the quarterfinals, Schillaci was back up top with Baggio, and once again scored - this time the only goal in a 1-0 victory.  In the semi-finals, Schillaci was again starting up top, this time IN PLACE OF BAGGIO, and scored Italy's lone goal in a 1-1 game in which the hosts lost to Argentina in a shootout.  Schillaci cemented his Golden Boot by scoring his 6th goal of the tournament in a 2-1 third-place victory over England, while also assisting on the second goal.  

Schillaci did not receive the call much for Italy after that, finishing his international career with 18 caps (16 in 1990-1991), and never again appeared in a World Cup.  He retired from his club career in 1997 having scored 154 goals in 417 games.  He passed away in 2024 at the age of 59.  

Back to the countdown (and in the saddest of segues) ...

3.  Jayden Adams - Shortly after the 25-year-old South African midfielder returned home following Bofana Bofana's ouster from the knockout rounds, he was found dead on the morning of July 11.  Cause of death remains unknown - or at least unreleased.  Adams appeared in three of South Africa's four games in this World Cup.

2.  This game-winning goal by JULIAN ALVAREZ!!!

1.  What is an appropriate response by your team's fans when you score both goals in a 2-1 extra time victory?  HEY JUDE by the Beatles!!!  And Bellingham's reaction is priceless too!

Which were the best games of the quarterfinals?  Here are my rankings ...

4.  France 2-0 over Morocco - Morocco contributed next-to-nothing for excitement, making this game one-sided and kind of boring.

3.  Argentina 3-1 (ET) over Switzerland - Switzerland was game, but Argentina's 60% possession is really why this is third.

2.  England 2-1 over Norway - The first quarter (Ha! Ha! - Take that FIFA) was pretty plodding, slow, and uneventful.  It really picked up from there.

1.  Spain 2-1 over Belgium - Just a truly great game, even if not at the level of some of the games in the previous rounds.  

The top 4 teams in the FIFA rankings all made the Semi-Finals.  But how do they rank on my list?  (Previous ranking in parentheses)

1.  France (6) - Best game they have played all tournament.

2.  Argentina (4) - They win even without Messi scoring a goal!

3.  Spain (5) - They finally gave up a goal in this tournament!

4.  England (3) - Mostly because they were truly tested by Norway!

WORLD CUP 2026 RANKINGS

 

Here is my listing of the best teams in World Cup 2026 after the first round of Group matches.  In completing these rankings I take nothing from the historical traditions of the countries and their respective teams, nor FIFA's pre-tournament rankings.  I only rank based upon what I have seen on-the-field.  And since outcomes are paramount, all teams that are 1-0 will be ranked ahead of all teams that drew, and subsequently those teams will be ranked ahead of all of the teams that lost their first games.  Record matters.  So, as the games progress, this will be an incredibly fluid ranking system.  After round 1, here are the best performing teams in the World Cup.

But before we get to the rankings, I wanted to share my Top 15 list of things to happen during the first set of group games. 

15.  Japan's team and fans cleaning their own locker rooms and stadiums after the games.  This would have been A LOT higher if we haven't seen it before at EVERY Olympics, World Cup, World Baseball Classic, and literally EVERYTHING!  Still deserves a spot in this list. 

14.    Europeans and others Christopher Columbusing America on social media - Costco, Buccee's, Waffle House, Whattaburger, Chipotle, WalMart, Chick-fil-A, KFC and Raisin' Cane's, etc.  Freddie from Germany is the most well-known but you can just look up anybody!

13.  Tyler and Jenny Bindon.  Tyler, a defender for New Zealand and Nottingham Forest, may not have the world clout of teammate Chris Wood, but he - along with his mother Jenny - became the first Mother-Son Duo to appear in the World Cup, after Jenny manned the pipes as the goalkeeper for New Zealand in 2007 and 2011.

12.  Gio Reyna's goal for the United States.  If the goal was more important - say to tie the game or take the lead - this would be A LOT higher.  But as it is, it is very important given Reyna's history with the USMNT and what happened last World Cup.  Sports Illustrated encapsulates that history HERE.  

11.  The Scotland traveling fan base - The Tartan Army - DRANK BOSTON BARS OUT OF BEER!!!  Well, not Bud Light, but all of Sam Adams Boston Lager and many other better beers!!!  Scotland plays agains tomorrow at Foxborough Stadium.  Hope there was a re-stock!!!

10.  And speaking of the Tartan Army, one member joined this Boston street performer for a Cross-Cultural Duet that Just Slaps!

9.  Other fan bases have also taken over the cities where their teams are playing, but some of them have targets other than their team's opponents.  I wonder who is the target of Australia's chants?  "He's fat.  He's old.  He likes them 12-years old"!  "Aussie blokes are on a bender.  Donald Trump is a sex offender!"  And not to be outdone by their younger brother, Great Britain's fans have chimed in with, "He's fat, with piles.  He's in the Epstein files.  Trump the cuuuunt, Trump the cuuuunt!"

8.  "Where in the World Cup is Jameis Winston" is a fantastic segment during this World Cup.  He has been spotted with Croatian fans calling himself Jameisovic Winstonivic; cleaning the stadium with Japanese fans (See #15), bringing a Goat dressed as Lionel Messi to the Argentina game, and marching the Oranje Walk with the Dutch fans!  Jameis Winston is a National Treasure!

7.  After about 10 to 15 minutes of complete build-up, where it seemed like Ghana was destined to score a goal, with seemingly its only opponent being the clock, Caleb Yirenkyi, who had been playing most of the game on a yellow card earned in the 16th minute, scored in the 90 +6th minute of the game to cause Toronto Stadium to just explode as the Black Stars defeated Panama 1-0.  The tension, anticipation of what seemed like a pre-destined goal, and then the exuberance when it happened was simply palpable. 

6.  The Tartan Army is back here again, this time taking over Fenway Park with their own chants and songs, like Super John McGinn, Yes Sir I Can Boogie and 5000 Miles, as well as Baseball Classics like Take Me Out to the Ball Game, and Fenway staple Sweet Caroline.  And I just found out Scotland's last group stage game is against Brazil in the Artist Formerly Known as Hard Rock Stadium, Formerly Known as Sun Life Stadium, Formerly Known as Land Shark Stadium, Formerly Known as Dolphin Stadium, Formerly Known as Dolphins Stadium, Formerly Known as Pro Player Stadium and Formerly Known as Joe Robbie Stadium.  LONG LIVE THE TARTAN ARMY!!!

5.  Stars Shine.  Lionel Messi with a hat trick.  Braces from Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, a goal and an assist from Luis Diaz.  Even defender Virgil van Dijk scored a goal.  The stars showed out in the first set of games.  Except for Cristiano Ronaldo, who failed to score as Portugal drew with the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1-1.

4.  And speaking of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Portugal game, a watch party was held in Praca do Comercio, the main plaza in Lisbon, Portugal (a place which is amazing by the way).  Watch what happens when YOANE WISSA ties the game up 1-1 just before halftime after Jaoa Neves shot the Portuguese into an early lead at the 6th minute.

3.  No fan base can outdo Norway's, especially when they perform the VIKING ROW!!!

2.  Except maybe the Tartan Army, that collects donations for every location to which they travel for Scotland's games.  They have donated over $10,000 to Hasbro's Children's Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, $10,000 for grassroots soccer programs for underprivileged children in the Providence area, $6500 to the Rhode Island Highlanders Pipe Band to teach children to play the bagpipes, and $1,300 to Horizons for Homeless Children - a Boston based charity.  This is actually number 1, except I had to have number 1 actually be about on the field play.

1.  And the number 1 spot goes to Vozinha Dias, the goalkeeper for Cabo Verde, who at age 40 and after a journeyman professional career, made 7 saves - many of them of the spectacular variety - to preserve a 0-0 draw with one of the World Cup favorites Spain.  His Instagram page went from 40,000 followers to over 12.1 million!!!!  Well-earned Vozinha.  Well-earned.

And now to the team rankings!

1.  Germany 1-0

2.  Argentina 1-0

3.  Sweden 1-0

4.  England 1-0

5.  France 1-0

6.  Norway 1-0

7.  United States 1-0

8.  Colombia 1-0

9.  Austria 1-0

10.  Mexico 1-0

11.  Ghana 1-0

12.  Australia 1-0

13.  Cote d'Ivoire 1-0

14.  South Korea 1-0

15.  Scotland 1-0

16.  Spain 0-0-1

17.  Uruguay 0-0-1

18.  Netherlands 0-0-1

19.  Brazil 0-0-1

20.  Morocco 0-0-1

21.  Belgium 0-0-1

22.  Switzerland 0-0-1

23.  Egypt 0-0-1

24.  Iran 0-0-1

25.  Canada 0-0-1

26.  Japan 0-0-1

27.  Portugal 0-0-1

28.  New Zealand 0-0-1

29.  Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-0-1

30.  Saudi Arabia 0-0-1

31.  Qatar 0-0-1

32.  Democratic Republic of the Congo 0-0-1

33.  Cabo Verde 0-0-1

34.  Senegal 0-1

35.  Ecuador 0-1

36.  Croatia 0-1

37.  Haiti 0-1

38.  Czechia 0-1

39.  Turkiye 0-1

40.  Paraguay 0-1

41.  South Africa 0-1

42.  Iraq 0-1

43.  Panama 0-1

44.  Tunisia 0-1

45.  Uzbekistan 0-1

46.  Jordan 0-0

47.  Algeria 0-1

48.  Curacao 0-1

World Cup - Russia 2018

So the second round of group play is complete, meaning that all 32 have played two of their three group games.  Although a few teams have qualified for the knockout stages, and a few teams are eliminated, most are still in contention.The below is a ranking of how the teams have looked so far, taking into account both games played.

A couple of notes as to the standings: (1) The teams that have earned the most points are all ranked higher than teams that have earned less points.  Even though a team with two draws may look better than a team with one win and one loss, the team with one win will be ranked ahead; (2) My rankings come only based upon how I think each team has looked so far, taking into account their opponent - prior rankings of the teams do not factor into these rankings; and (3) Score can be a factor in how a team performed, but if a team won by 5 it doesn't necessarily mean they are ranked higher than a team that may have won by 2 goals.

On to the rankings ...

6 Points (2 Victories)

1.  Belgium - Two big wins against lesser opponents, but Belgium dominated both Panama and Tunisia, whereas other favorites have not looked so great.  Romelu Lukaku stands tied for second in the golden boot standings.

2.  Mexico - Scored the win of the tournament to date in defeating Germany.  Had a solid victory over South Korea.

3.  Croatia - They followed up a 2-0 victory over Nigeria with an impressive 3-0 victory over Argentina, that just might have knocked Messi out of the tournament.

4.  England - A 6-1 thrashing of Panama has the Three Lions ranked ahead of some of the other undefeated's.  Harry Kane's hat trick over Panama follows up his brace against Tunisia to lead the golden boot standings.

5.  Russia - The host squad has looked great so far, but its toughest group challenge lies ahead of them.  Have already advanced to the knockout round.

6.  France - Have looked underwhelming in their 2 victories against Australia and Peru, but still have 2 victories.

7.  Uruguay - Have not dominated the two lesser opponents in their group - Saudi Arabia and Egypt.  Can rise substantially if they handle Russia.

4 Points (1 Win/1Draw)

8.  Spain - After the exciting draw with Portugal, went on to easily defeat Iran 1-0.  Diego Costa tied for fourth in the golden boot standings.

9.  Portugal - After the exciting draw with Spain, went on to easily defeat Morocco 1-0.  Cristiano Ronaldo tied for second in the golden boot standings.

10.  Senegal - They might be the fastest team in the tournament.  Could not hold on to 1-0 and 2-1 leads against Japan.  Will lead to an interesting matchup with Colombia, with the winner advancing to the knockout stages.

11.  Switzerland - A great performance against Serbia (2-1 win) on the heels of the draw with Brazil.

12.  Brazil - Won 2-0 against Costa Rica, but still does not yet look like they are clicking.  Tough matchup against Serbia looming.

13.  Japan - Looked really gutsy in comeback draw against Senegal.  Sits atop their group (with Senegal) with last match against lowly Poland.

14.  Denmark - Sits in second place in its group (behind France) after a 1-0 win over Peru and a 1-1 draw with Australia.  A draw against France or a close loss against France and a close win by Australia over Peru allows Denmark to advance.

3 Points (1 Win/1 Loss)

15.  Serbia - Looked decent in a win over Costa Rica, but looked overwhelmed by Switzerland.  Can still advance with a good result over Brazil.

16.  Nigeria - As lackluster as they looked in their first matchup against Croatia is how good they looked against Iceland.  They have the pre-tourney group favorites tomorrow in Argentina.

17.  Colombia - Oh how different things could be without a red card in the third minute of game 1.

18.  Germany - Rose from the dead against Sweden in gaining an extra time goal by Toni Kroos to not only stay alive, but take over second place in the group, with doormat South Korea next.

19.  Sweden - Simply tired against Germany and could not hold the lead, or draw.  Can still advance with a win over Mexico depending upon the Germany - South Korea outcome.

20.  Iran - A boring 1-0 win over Morocco gives them a chance to advance if they can stun Portugal.

1 Point (1 Draw/1 Loss)

21.  Australia - A close loss to France in which they played up to the level of the French, but could only manage a draw with Denmark.  Still have the opportunity to advance, but they must beat Peru and hope France beats Denmark.

22.  Iceland - The feel good story of qualifying followed up their dramatic tie with Argentina with a 2-0 loss to Nigeria.  Can still advance, but that task is daunting with Croatia up next.

23.  Argentina - Looked miserable against Croatia.  Amazingly enough - still have a chance to advance.

0 Points (2 Losses)

24.  Peru - Tough defensive-minded team that has yet to score a goal (along with 3 others).

25.  South Korea - Close losses to Sweden and Mexico are pretty respectable, but just lacks any threat going forward.

26.  Tunisia - Handled fairly easily by England and Belgium.

27.  Costa Rica - Another team that has yet to score a goal in the tournament.

28.  Egypt - Even with the great Mohammed Saleh, lost 2 matches to Uruguay and Russia, although playing Uruguay tight until the 88th minute.

29.  Morocco - The third team to have failed to score a goal throughout the tournament, although both losses were only 1-0.

30.  Poland - A team with Robert Lewandowski up front should have more of a scoring threat, but alas, only 1 goal and no other real threats for Poland.

31.  Panama - The only saving grace to yesterday's 6-1 thrashing is that Panama scored its first ever World Cup goal.  And, a 6-1 defeat to England is better than a 5-0 loss to Russia (see below).

32.  Saudi Arabia - Through 2 rounds, the Saudis are easily the worst team in the tournament, losing 5-0 to Russia and 1-0 to Uruguay.