France lose top FIFA ranking after Ivory Coast defeat

France have dropped to third in the FIFA rankings following a 2-1 loss to Ivory Coast on Thursday. The defeat ended a four-match winning streak for Didier Deschamps’ team. Argentina now lead the rankings as world champions, with Spain in second place after their Euro success. France’s last defeat before Thursday came against Spain in the 2025 UEFA Nations League semi-finals, a 5-4 loss. Their previous non-UEFA defeat was a 1-0 loss to Tunisia at the 2022 World Cup group stage. France recovered from that setback to reach the final, where Argentina beat them on penalties. Since FIFA rankings began in 1993, no team has won the World Cup while ranked #1 before the tournament. Brazil in 2002 were top-ranked on June 1, the day after the World Cup started. France will open their 2026 World Cup campaign against Senegal on June 16, the same opponent that beat them 1-0 in the 2002 tournament opener.