Spain on top and Argentina second: FIFA standings after the World Cup | OneFootball

The 1-0 defeat to Spain in the 2026 World Cup final not only denied the Argentina national team a second straight title, but also cost them the top spot in the world rankings. The European side took advantage of the victory in New York to climb to the top of the overall table, which will remain frozen and without official changes until its next update on October 7.

By winning the world title for the second time in its history, La Roja rose to first place with a total of 1995.88 points. In this way, it pushed the team managed by Lionel Scaloni down to second place, where it remained with 1970.30 points. Throughout the tournament, La Albiceleste went through several changes in its position due to real-time updates: it began the World Cup as leader, lost ground in the group stage, temporarily regained the top spot after defeating England in the semifinals, and finally dropped back to second place after the decisive match.

How the Top 10 ended up and the tournament’s big surprise

Behind Spain and Argentina, the top spots in the international rankings remained the subject of a very tight battle between the European and South American powers:

The usefulness of the ranking and how the “SUM” system works

The importance of this table goes beyond symbolism, since during this World Cup it served as the sole sporting criterion for determining the seeded national teams in the group-stage draw, alongside the host country in the main pots.

The FIFA rankings are governed by a rigorous mathematical methodology approved by the organization’s Council and implemented in August 2018. This model, known as the “SUM” system, replaced the old scheme that averaged the points earned over a fixed period of time.

Currently, the mathematical formula adds or subtracts points from each country’s total after every individual match is completed. The number of points at stake is calculated based on the relative strength of the two opponents on the field. Under this logical criterion, the algorithm assumes that higher-ranked teams have a greater mathematical probability of defeating lower-ranked opponents, penalizing or rewarding scores according to the strength of the opponent and the importance of the tournament being played.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.