Morocco has achieved the highest FIFA men’s world rankings, rising to eighth despite losing the Africa Cup of Nations final to Senegal, who climbed to 12th on Monday.
Morocco were defeated 1-0 by Senegal in the decider in Rabat on Sunday after extra time, but the hosts had a chance to win the trophy with a last-gasp penalty at the end of regular time.
However, Brahim Diaz squandered the kick after having to wait around 14 minutes for the Senegalese players to return as they left the field to protest the penalty decision.
Morocco climbed three places in the January rankings to eighth. The 2022 World Cup semi-finalist’s previous record was 10th place in April 1998.
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The highest ranking achieved by an African team was Nigeria’s fifth place in April 1994, while Egypt achieved the best ranking among Arab countries when it reached ninth place in July 2010.
Champion Senegal, who emerged victorious for the second time in the past three editions, moved up seven places and reached their highest ranking ever. The previous record was 17th place, achieved in 2024.
The AFCON results have had a huge impact on the rankings of African teams as several positions have shifted.
Bronze medalist Nigeria (26th) was the team that achieved the most points, collecting 79.09 points to move up 12 places, the same as Cameroon (45th), making them the biggest climbers.
Egypt, who reached the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, climbed four places to 31st, three spots behind Algeria.
Gabon, who were eliminated in the group stage, lost 44.97 points, becoming the team to lose the most points and dropping to 86th place. Equatorial Guinea, meanwhile, suffered the biggest decline, falling 10 places to 107th.
European champion Spain retained first place, ahead of World Cup holder Argentina. France is third, followed by England, Brazil, Portugal and the Netherlands, with no change in the rankings of the top seven teams.
Published on January 20, 2026
