175 international matches played in October
World champions Argentina still lead the way, but the top three are bunching up
Comoros, Sudan and Botswana make the biggest moves
Thirty-two qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 26™, 47 for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025, 79 Nations League matches and 17 friendlies were played during the recent international window, making October 2024 a particularly busy month of football and one that has led to a number of changes in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking™. The top three teams are also bunching up. Argentina (1st) are still on top, but their lead over France (2nd) and Spain (3rd) has been cut. England (4th), Brazil (5th) and Belgium (6th) have all held onto their positions. Portugal (7th, up 1) and Italy (9th, up 1) are the only climbers within the top 10, which is completed by the Netherlands (8th, down 1) and Colombia (10th, down 1), with Germany (11th, up 2) now knocking on the door.
Elsewhere, Algeria (37th, up 4), Peru (38th, up 5) and Greece (42nd, up 6) have all made moves worthy of note, and Cameroon (49th, up 4) have returned to the top 50. Other African teams to have made significant progress in the ranking include Equatorial Guinea (88th, up 6), Zimbabwe (117th, up 7), The Gambia (128th, up 7) and Botswana (140th, up 7), the last of whom, the Zebras, have posted the biggest jump overall in terms of points gained (up 38.30 points). There is further cause for celebration for Africa as two other CAF teams have climbed the most places (10) in this edition of the ranking, namely Comoros (108th) and Sudan (110th), who came out on top against Tunisia and Ghana, respectively, in their recent home-and-away duels as part of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 qualifiers.
| Leader | Argentina (unchanged) |
| Moves into top 10 | none |
| Moves out of top 10 | none |
| Matches played in total | 11 |
| Most matches played | 166 teams (2 matches each) |
| Biggest move by points | Botswana (up 38.30 points) |
| Biggest move by ranks | Comoros, Sudan (up 10 ranks) |
| Biggest drop by points | Cabo Verde (down 38.30 points) |
| Biggest drop by ranks | Tunisia (down 11 ranks) |
| Newly ranked teams | none |
| Teams that are no longer ranked | none |
| Inactive teams, not ranked | Eritrea |
Comoros have been on the up for several months now and they are once again in their highest-ever position in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking.
Click here to view the full ranking.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking will be published on 28 November.