October 8 – Portugal have climbed two places to fifth in the latest FIFA men’s world rankings, a sharp rise that comes just days after Cristiano Ronaldo quit the national team following his public falling out with coach Jorge Jesus.
The 41-year-old left ahead of Portugal’s Nations League meeting with Denmark after accusing Jesus of breaking promises about how his playing time would be managed. Ronaldo said an agreed plan had been changed and later claimed the manager did not publicly clarify the situation as promised. Jesus has discussed his version of events.
Ronaldo has apologized for leaving the national team and accepted he could face disciplinary action, but stopped short of calling time on a career in Portugal dating back to 2003. He says he remains available if selected.
While the downright strange argument has dominated attention to the team, Portugal have continued to produce results on the pitch.
Four straight Nations League wins, including wins over Norway, Wales and Denmark, have seen them overtake Brazil and Morocco in FIFA’s October rankings. Portugal are the only country in the top 10 to improve their position and have already booked a place in the quarter-finals of the Nations League.
October’s roster is the first substantial change since the World Cup ended in July, with 338 internationals playing in the UEFA Nations Leagues and Concacaf and qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
Spain have carried their World Cup form straight into the Nations League, winning their first four games to extend their lead over Argentina to almost 40 qualifying points.
Argentina, now bracing for a future without Lionel Messi, who played his last game on Tuesday evening, remain second with France in third, while Portugal’s two-place rise to fifth has moved them above Brazil and Morocco, who drop to sixth and seventh respectively.
England remain fourth, with a late defeat to Spain in a 7-0 thrashing of Croatia.
Portugal have also opened their Nations League campaign with four straight wins, matching Spain and Switzerland, whose unbeaten run has pushed them up two places to 12th. Germany and Croatia each drop one place to 13th and 14th.
Further down, the most important changes are African.
Mali and South Africa have moved up six places to 47th and 48th, taking CAF’s representation within the top 50 to 10 countries. UEFA now has 24 after losing one place, while CONMEBOL dropped to eight after the Czech Republic and Peru dropped out of the top 50.
Greece look fantastic on the pitch and their rating reflects that, climbing five places to 41st after four games without defeat.
The CAN rankings have seen Rwanda rise nine places to 119th and Guinea-Bissau eight to 124th. The Dominican Republic also moved up nine places to 135th, sharing the biggest position increase from the last ranking with Rwanda.
Spain has shown little sign of a break after the World Cup. Four more wins have widened the gap at the top, while Portugal’s rise is the only change to the established top 10.
The next FIFA men’s rankings will be published on November 18.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at (email protected)
