A month of contrasts: winners and losers of the October 2026 FIFA World Rankings

Algeria and Saudi Arabia climb while Morocco and Egypt drop

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A month of contrasts: winners and losers of the October 2026 FIFA World Rankings

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) officially released its updated Men's World Ranking on Wednesday 7 October 2026 revealing contrasting fortunes across the Arab football landscape following the conclusion of the latest international window, with Morocco national team and Egypt national team slipping slightly while several Gulf and regional sides achieved significant leaps.

Morocco & Egypt retain top 25 foothold despite slips

Morocco maintained their commanding lead as the top-ranked nation in both the Arab world and Africa. Despite slipping one place to 7th globally with 1,805.34 points, the Atlas Lions remain comfortably entrenched among the world's elite top 10.

Similarly, Egypt experienced a one-place drop, settling in 25th position with 1,585.86 points. Despite the minor drop following their recent international camp at Cairo Stadium, the Pharaohs preserved their spot inside the global top 25.

Meanwhile, Algeria national team continued their upward trajectory, climbing one spot to 28th globally to solidify their position as the third highest ranked Arab nation.

Big climbers: Saudi Arabia, UAE and Palestine surge

The latest release brought substantial positive movement for several Asian Football Confederation (AFC) members:

Saudi Arabia: The Saudi Arabia national team emerged as one of the month’s biggest beneficiaries, jumping three places to 55th globally with 1,443.17 points
United Arab Emirates: The UAE climbed three positions to 65th globally (up from 68th) closing the gap on regional rivals Qatar (60th) and Iraq (63rd)
Palestine, Mauritania and Lebanon: Each recorded an impressive three-place leap, moving to 92nd, 110th and 112th, respectively.

Steep declines for Bahrain & Tunisia

Conversely, several nations suffered sharp drops following disappointing results during the October window:

Bahrain: Suffered the steepest slide among all Arab nations, falling five places to 97th globally
Tunisia: Dropped four spots to 61st, falling behind Qatar
Syria & Libya: Each lost three positions, settling in 86th and 113th, respectively

Complete breakdown of Arab Nations in FIFA world rankings (October 2026)

Rank (Arab)	Nation	Global Rank	Movement
1	Morocco	7th	Down 1
2	Egypt	25th	Down 1
3	Algeria	28th	Up 1
4	Saudi Arabia	55th	Up 3
5	Qatar	60th	Down 1
6	Tunisia	61st	Down 4
7	Iraq	63rd	Unchanged
8	UAE	65th	Up 3
9	Jordan	72nd	Up 1
10	Oman	81st	Down 2
11	Syria	86th	Down 3
12	Palestine	92nd	Up 3
13	Bahrain	97th	Down 5
14	Comoros	107th	Up 1
15	Mauritania	110th	Up 3
16	Lebanon	112th	Up 3
17	Libya	113th	Down 3
18	Sudan	118th	Down 1
19	Kuwait	134th	Down 1
20	Yemen	144th	Up 1
21	Djibouti	195th	Up 1
22	Somalia	200th	Down 1

The new FIFA ranking for October 📊🧵 🇪🇸 Spain stay No. 1, ahead of 🇦🇷 Argentina, 🇫🇷 France and 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England 🇵🇹 Portugal up 2 to 5th since July, 🇨🇭 Switzerland up 2 to 12th Last games of the window: 🇪🇸 Spain won 2-1 in 🇭🇷 Croatia (+3.72), Croatia down to 14th behind 🇩🇪 Germany 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England beat 🇨🇿 Czechia 3-0 (+2.16) 🇺🇸 USA beat 🇨🇦 Canada 1-0 (+3.85) 🇲🇽 Mexico lost 2-0 at home to 🇨🇱 Chile (-7.56) but stay 10th ⬆️⬇️ on the card = places moved since July's official ranking
— Football Meets Data (@fmeetsdata) October 7, 2026

Top African Nations in FIFA world rankings (October 2026)

CAF Rank	Nation	Global Rank	Movement
1	Morocco	7th	Down 1
2	Senegal	18th	Unchanged
3	Egypt	25th	Down 1
4	Algeria	28th	Up 1
5	Cote d'Ivoire	29th	Up 2
6	Nigeria	30th	Down 4
7	DR Congo	40th	Up 1
8	Cameroon	42nd	Up 1
9	Mali	47th	Up 6
10	South Africa	48th	Up 6
11	Tunisia	61st	Down 4

Biggest movers in the new FIFA ranking, July to October 📈📉🧵 Top 100 only: 🇲🇱 Mali up 6 to 47th 🇿🇦 South Africa up 6 to 48th ☘️ Northern Ireland up 6 to 64th 🇬🇷 Greece up 5 to 41st 🇲🇿 Mozambique up 5 to 98th 🇷🇴 Romania down 6 to 58th 🇬🇭 Ghana down 5 to 70th 🇧🇬 Bulgaria down 5 to 90th 🇨🇳 China down 5 to 96th 🇧🇭 Bahrain down 5 to 97th
— Football Meets Data (@fmeetsdata) October 7, 2026

Mathematical volatility and seeding consequences

The minor declines for heavyweights Morocco and Egypt illustrate the punishing mathematical mechanics of the FIFA ranking algorithm, where even routine friendly results or unplayed competitive slots can see fractions of points shaved off against lower-coefficient opposition.

However, their presence in the top 25 protects crucial top-seed allocations for forthcoming tournament cycles.

Khaled Hegazy |

Editorar, en

Journaliste sportif spécialisé dans la couverture du football et la création de contenu numérique, alliant expérience éditoriale et expertise des médias sociaux.