Updated B/R Men’s International Football Power Rankings for World Cup 2026

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B/R September ranking: New entry

After dropping out of B/R’s international power ranking in September, having landed in 20th in March’s edition, the Ivory Coast is back.

While fellow World Cup qualifiers from Africa might be higher in FIFA’s ranking—Algeria (38th), Egypt (35th), Senegal (18th)—the Elephants are the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions, which gives them an edge in this context. 

Ivory Coast just pipped Gabon to the top of qualifying Group F courtesy of a 7-0 win over Seychelles and a 3-0 victory against Kenya in October. 

With that, the Elephants return to the World Cup after last appearing in 2014. In North America, they will be hoping to progress from the group stages for the first time in their history. 

B/R September ranking: 16

After landing as high as 11th in B/R’s world football rankings in March, Ecuador has been gradually slipping away.

That high spot was as a result of incredible form in CONMEBOL qualifying, in which La Tri finished second. 

While Ecuador can be proud of that placement, it’s hard to shake the feeling that it was helped by the underperformance of other South American nations.

In fact, while La Tri are undefeated in their last seven games, they have only won one, albeit an impressive 1-0 victory over Argentina. 

Momentum seems to be flagging a bit, and that’s reflected in their drop in power ranking.

B/R September ranking: 18

In 10 games since the start of the Gold Cup on June 15, the United States has lost just two matches.

That might be an overly optimistic way of looking at the team’s run of results, but it still reads well, and it includes games played in a tournament setting. 

The Stars and Stripes finished the October break with a draw against Ecuador and a victory against Australia, two teams that will also be playing in next summer’s tournament. 

With Ecuador finishing second in CONMEBOL qualification ahead of Brazil, Uruguay, and Colombia, that 1-1 stalemate doesn’t look as problematic either.

It’s not exactly Earth-shaking form, but the Stars and Stripes are starting to look solid while approaching their co-hosting duties.

B/R September ranking: 19

Japan has been disappointing since sealing World Cup qualification in March, with just two wins in six matches from June onwards.

However, on Tuesday, the Samurai Blue came back from 2-0 down to secure a 3-2 friendly win over Brazil.

Of course, it’s easy to point to that result coming in an essentially meaningless game, but it demonstrates the team’s resilience, and Brazil still put out a strong XI. 

For Japan, it’s now about fine-tuning ahead of the World Cup in June, and more results like the one against the Seleçao Canarinho will set it up nicely for North America. 

B/R September ranking: 15

Uruguay has demonstrated a notable level of consistency in the last two international breaks, going undefeated in four games and winning three.

For a squad that was criticized for being frustrating in September’s B/R rankings, that’s a notable improvement.

However, with teams surrounding Uruguay performing at a similar level in the last few months, and the level of competition it faced not as strong—Peru (48th), Chile (57th), Dominican Republic (142nd), and Uzbekistan (54th)—it falls a place to 16th.

Friendly matches are an opportunity to rotate and test tactics, so underperforming is to be expected. Still, if La Celeste wants to establish a dark horse reputation for themselves heading into the tournament, like they have in years past, they will need some better results.