Overview
- Argentina’s defeat in Guayaquil ends roughly two and a half years at the summit and drops the team to third.
- Spain will take top spot and France will be second in the next list after Spain’s 3-0 win over Bulgaria and 6-0 win over Turkey and France’s victories over Iceland and Ukraine.
- The ranking formula rewards opponent strength and match importance, costing Argentina points against lower-ranked Ecuador while European qualifiers yielded bigger gains.
- An October friendly window against Venezuela and Puerto Rico offers Argentina a chance to recover ground, though European qualifying results could limit the swing.
- Since the rankings began in 1992, no team entering a World Cup ranked No. 1 has gone on to win the tournament.