Assahafa.com
The Atlas Lions have risen three spots to reach 8th place in the FIFA Men’s World Ranking for the first time in history, according to the January update released on Monday.
Despite losing in the final, AFCON host country, Morocco, can celebrate a return to the top 10 for the first time since April 1998, achieving its highest ranking ever, FIFA said in a statement.
The Atlas Lions now have 1,736.57 points, up 20.23. Their rise came at the expense of Croatia (11th, −1), which drops out of the top 10, as well as Belgium (9th, −1) and Germany (10th, −1).
The top of the ranking remains unchanged, with Spain (1st), Argentina, the reigning FIFA World Cup champion (2nd), and France (3rd) continuing to lead.
In Africa, Morocco leads, with Senegal (12th, +7) following. Nigeria (26th) and Cameroon (45th) made historic 12-place gains after the Africa Cup of Nations.
FIFA noted that CAF now has nine teams in the top 50, two more than at the end of 2025, while AFC and CONCACAF each lost a spot. UEFA dominates with 26 teams in the top 50, CONMEBOL has seven, and OFC remains unrepresented.
Source: map
