The latest FIFA world rankings have been confirmed with Wales taking a tumble after their disappointing playoff loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Wales failed to qualify for the World Cup after a penalty shootout defeat(Image: Getty)
Wales have dropped in the FIFA world rankings after Bosnia and Herzegovina ended their World Cup 2026 hopes. There has also been a significant shake-up at the summit with Spain losing their grip on top spot.
Craig Bellamy’s team headed into their playoff semi-final in Cardiff last Thursday hoping to seal a place in a final and despite leading 1-0 until the 86th minute thanks to Dan James’ strike, Edin Dzeko levelled things and forced extra time.
No goals were scored in the additional period and so penalties were required. Ermedin Demirovic’s first effort for Bosnia was saved by Karl Darlow and Harry Wilson then slotted home to give Wales the advantage.
But misses from Brennan Johnson and Neco Williams sent Bellamy’s men packing, with Bosnia eventually qualifying for the World Cup after beating Italy. Thanks to this result and a later 1-1 draw against Northern Ireland, Wales have dropped from 35th to 37th in the FIFA rankings.
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Elsewhere, England headed into the break with friendly fixtures against Uruguay and Japan on home soil. Their opening game at Wembley ended in a 1-1 draw, with Ben White’s late strike cancelled out by Federico Valverde’s penalty deep into second-half stoppage time.
England lost to Japan at Wembley(Image: Getty)
Japan followed, and a heavily rotated England starting XI were unable to find a way through. Thomas Tuchel’s men fell to a 1-0 defeat courtesy of a goal from Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma. Despite those disappointing outings, England have retained their fourth-place standing in FIFA’s latest rankings.
Spain had gone into this international break occupying the World No. 1 position. Yet despite the Euro 2024 champions thrashing Serbia 3-0 the previous week, they were held to a goalless draw by Egypt.
That result has proved costly, nudging them down to second, as France moved in to claim pole position. Les Bleus defeated Brazil 2-1 last month before recording a commanding 3-1 win over Colombia.
Argentina complete the top four in third place. This group of nations will all be seeded at the forthcoming World Cup and cannot face one another until the semi-final stage. Portugal, Brazil and the Netherlands sit just outside the top four, with Morocco occupying eighth spot as the highest-ranked African nation in the standings.
Johnson missed his spot-kick against Bosnia(Image: Getty)
Italy remain in 12th place, despite their catastrophic playoff defeat to Bosnia, meaning they will be absent from North America when the tournament gets underway this summer.
The host nations all feature within the top 30, with the United States placed 16th, Mexico 15th and Canada 30th. The same cannot be said for other home nations.
Scotland will be present at the World Cup but their international break was disappointing enough to see them fall five places to 43rd. The Republic of Ireland were knocked out of World Cup contention by Czechia but hold steady at 59th in the FIFA rankings. Northern Ireland dropped one spot and sit in 70th.
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