Spain surpass Argentina at FIFA rankings after 11 years

Argentina was surpassed by Spain at the FIFA men's rankings for the first time since June 2014, reports AP.

After losing to Ecuador in their World Cup qualifier match to Ecuador, Argentina slipped to the third place.

The European champions Spain climbed up from their second spot after beating Turkey and Bulgaria as France move up to the second position.

England retained fourth place, while Portugal rose to fifth, swapping positions with Brazil after their defeat in Bolivia.

Among non-European teams, Morocco stayed Africa's best-ranked side at No. 11, while Japan led Asia at No. 19. Both have already secured World Cup qualification.

World Cup co-hosts Mexico and the United States dropped one place each, to 14th and 16th respectively. Canada, the third co-host, gained two places to reach No. 26.

The rankings will be updated again in October and November, with the latter carrying particular significance as they will determine seedings for the 48-team World Cup draw on December 5 in Washington. That draw will include 42 confirmed teams and six placeholders for playoff winners, drawn from the lowest-ranked pot 4 nations - a group that could even include Italy.