B/R Men's International Football Power Rankings for March 2025

Elite club football has given way to international fixtures for the final time in the 2024-25 season.

World Cup qualifiers, UEFA and Concacaf Nations League games, and friendlies were on the agenda in March's national team slate, featuring some interesting games between global heavyweights. 

While players might have been forgiven for taking it easy considering their domestic club campaigns are entering the final throes with plenty on the line, sufficient effort was necessary with squad places up for grabs as we approach the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. 

With 48 teams—up from the usual 32—set to battle it out in North America, the prospects are tantalizingly high for some players to represent their country at the pinnacle of football.

Ahead of that extravaganza, though, what's the international picture looking like? FIFA, of course, has a ranking of the 210 national teams under its umbrella, but that doesn't always tell the full story.

Ahead, we've accounted for recent results and a little nuance to rank 20 of the finest international teams with a little less than 15 months to go until World Cup 2026. 

20. Ivory Coast 

FIFA Ranking: 46

A power ranking, by definition, should account for power, and Ivory Coast holds it in Africa.

The Africa Cup of Nations champions didn't have the smoothest, most convincing path to lifting the trophy, but they secured a 2-1 triumph over Nigeria in January 2024 to claim the nation's third AFCON title, this time on home soil. 

Ivory Coast is on top of its AFCON World Cup qualification group, giving the west Africans every chance of heading to North America in 2026.

Underestimate the Elephants at your peril. 

19. Iran

FIFA Ranking: 18

Ivory Coast's inclusion in the top 20 would suggest Qatar should also cross the threshold thanks to being the Asian Cup holders. 

However, since that victory as hosts, the Maroons have been on a dreadful run of form, with just six wins in their last 15 games—and they have fallen to fourth in their AFC World Cup qualification group.

Meanwhile, Iran—who lost to Qatar in the Asian Cup semifinals—haven't lost since that narrow defeat in January 2024, with nine wins in 12 games.

Team Melli have now qualified for the World Cup from the AFC and will be looking ahead to the 2026 showpiece. Manager Amir Ghalenoei has had just one defeat in 24 games in charge, relying on collective strength rather than star players. 

18. Japan

FIFA Ranking: 15

Japan is on an incredible run of form, with its last loss coming against Iran on February 3, 2024. 

Since then, it has rattled off 10 wins in the last 12 games and suffered no defeats. 

However, the quality of its opponents hasn't been particularly impressive. Two games against North Korea (115th in FIFA ranking), two against China (90th), two against Bahrain (81st), and single fixtures against other low-ranked teams don't exactly breed confidence.

But a win is a win, and Japan has already secured qualification to 2026's international football showpiece. Let's see what happens when the Samurai Blue face some tougher foes.

17. Morocco

FIFA Ranking: 14

For Morocco, you can pretty much read the entry for Japan. 

The Atlas Lions haven't lost since January 2024, winning 11 of their last 12, but they've twice played Lesotho (149th), Central African Republic (135th) and Gabon (84th) in that span. 

They're still riding high after a fourth-place finish in the 2022 World Cup, but it's difficult to read too much into recent results, even if they are top of their qualifying group for the 2026 tournament. 

16. Belgium

FIFA Ranking: 8

The Golden Years of Belgian football are looking further and further away.

Since March 2024, the Red Devils have won five of their last 16 games and lost five of their last seven. 

Four of those wins came against Montenegro (ranked 73rd in the world by FIFA), Luxembourg (92nd), Romania (38th) and Israel (76th). But they also lost to Israel in November.

A once formidable squad is now looking old and frail. There's still some talent there, but manager Rudi Garcia will need to start getting results before the chances of a trip to North America look increasingly long. Sunday's 3-0 win over Ukraine was a good start.

15. Uruguay

FIFA Ranking: 11

Things aren't going so well for Uruguay at the moment. 

It has won just two games in 11 (including one game in a penalty shootout) and have scored just seven goals in normal play during that period. 

Of course, they've been up against some tough opponents, with Colombia (twice), Argentina and Brazil among that clutch of rivals. But losing to 40th-ranked Peru and drawing with Guatemala (105th), Paraguay (53rd), Venezuela (47th) and Bolivia (79th) isn't encouraging.

It's easy to point to the reason for the lack of goals. Liverpool's Darwin Núñez hasn't found the back of the net for La Celeste since June 2024. 

Still, with the top six CONMEBOL teams in qualifying guaranteed to be heading to the 2026 World Cup, Uruguay will be fairly content in third place. But it needs some goals, and fast, to avoid a major collapse. 

14. United States

FIFA Ranking: 16

The promise of the Mauricio Pochettino era has hit a bit of a stumbling block, with the U.S. men's national team succumbing to a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Panama in the Nations League semifinal and then losing the third-place playoff to Canada.

Up until those losses, the Argentinian had earned five wins from six, giving the team plenty of promise in the run-up to co-hosting international soccer's biggest event.

With Christian Pulisic returning to talismanic status after rejuvenation at AC Milan and Antonee Robinson starting to look like one of the best left-backs in the world, there is plenty to be excited about in the USMNT camp.

However, bigger tests against more notable teams are needed before getting too giddy, and they'll need to recover quickly from two disappointing defeats.

13. Croatia

FIFA Ranking: 13

As Luka Modric's career slows down, so Croatia drops in the FIFA rankings. In June 2023, the Vatreni were as high as sixth, not long after a third-place finish in the 2022 World Cup.

But after crashing out in the group stage of Euro 2024 and going through some patchy form, they've fallen to 13th in FIFA's world rankings.

Dating back to the start of the last Euros, Croatia has won just three of its last 11 games, with four defeats in that time. 

A 2-0 win against France in the first leg of the Nations League quarterfinal was an apparent sign of life, but that hard work was undone with a 2-0 defeat in the return game before they were knocked out of the competition on penalties. 

Croatia will need to do a lot more to start climbing back into the upper echelons in the international reckoning. 

12. Mexico 

FIFA Ranking: 19

The Gold Cup champions and co-host of the 2026 tournament shift up seven spots from their FIFA ranking. 

El Tri have automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup, which they'll be grateful for after suffering a mild Gold Cup hangover that saw them flop in the 2024 Copa America, exiting at the group stage

Recent results are more promising, though. They defeated the United States in an October friendly, then toppled Honduras in a two-legged 2024-25 Nations League quarterfinal in November.

In March's international break, they beat Canada 2-0 to reach a second consecutive Nations League final, which they went on to win 2-1 against Panama.

They'll need that form to continue if they want to satisfy the home support in 2026.

11. Ecuador

FIFA Ranking: 24

Ecuador is sitting second in CONMEBOL's World Cup qualification group after 14 games.

La Tricolor have only lost twice on the road to North America, to table-toppers Argentina and the Selecão Canarinho. 

An excellent outfield spine of Piero Hincapié, Moisés Caicedo, and the timeless Enner Valencia are a big part of that success—with the latter scoring four and assisting two in his last three games.

10. Netherlands

FIFA Ranking: 7

Netherlands remain a bit of a conundrum. The squad looks fantastic, but it isn't getting the results that such talent should be achieving.

The Oranje are on a run of just one win in their last seven (including a loss on penalties to Spain), with Hungary (ranked 30th by FIFA) the victims on that occasion. 

Four draws (five if you include the 3-3 draw against La Furia Roja that went to spot-kicks) in that time are perhaps the issue. Recent Dutch history has shown an inability to get things over the line, and that trait is persisting.

But with Virgil van Dijk, Jeremie Frimpong, Frenkie de Jong, Xavi Simons, Teun Koopmeiners and Cody Gakpo in the ranks, there's every chance a good qualifying run can lead to greater things. 

9. Italy

FIFA Ranking: 9

Italy lands ahead of the Netherlands in our rankings mostly by virtue of a 3-1 victory over France within the last 10 months, with the Oranje not sealing a win over a comparatively ranked opponent in quite some time.

However, the Azzurri also lost to Les Blues in November, so let's not put too much stock into that result.

Luciano Spaletti's side has won seven of its last 15 matches, with four defeats in that time. However, triumphs over Belgium, Israel (twice), Albania, Bosnia, Ecuador and Venezuela should perhaps be expected.

The squad is peppered with stars and the manager has some fine credentials, but we're not quite seeing the levels we'd perhaps anticipate just yet.

8. Colombia

FIFA Ranking: 12

Columbia has lost four of its last six games. 

That seems pretty poor, but when you zoom out a bit, you'll notice the Cafeteros have suffered just five losses since March 2022.

Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Bolivia and Argentina are the teams to pick up victories against them in that time, which makes it seem even less like a crisis. 

But that form will be alarming for manager Néstor Lorenzo, who has been exemplary up until recently. 

He has a team full of experience, grit and flair, and an international cheat code in James Rodríguez. If they can get back on track, they could be set for a deep run in North America. 

7. Brazil

FIFA Ranking: 5

Brazil almost gets into the top three on international reputation alone. However, recent results have been somewhat erratic.

The Seleçao Canarinho have won just seven of their last 16, although they only succumbed to three defeats in that time—including a crushing 4-1 loss to Argentina.

They've beaten England, Mexico and Colombia in that handful of fixtures, but they've also drawn with Venezuela and Costa Rica and been beaten by Paraguay.

International football is fickle, but such inconsistency doesn't bode well. 

However, having Vinicius Junior, fellow Real Madrid star Rodrygo, the ridiculously in-form Raphinha, and a solid rearguard featuring centre-backs Marquinhos and Eder Militão and goalkeeper Alisson counts for quite a lot.

That's still plenty to fear. Results aside, you'd still bank on the Seleçao Canarinho reaching the latter stages of any tournament. 

6. Portugal

FIFA Ranking: 6

Portugal has a stacked squad with depth at every single position, but this still feels like a team that is struggling to meet its potential. 

There's a 40-year-old GOAT in the room, of course. Despite scoring six in his last seven games for his country, it's arguable that Cristiano Ronaldo might now be doing more harm than good for the side he's carried on the world stage for such a long time.

There are questions about the manager, too. Roberto Martinez squandered arguably the best years of Belgium's international football history, and there's a very real concern that he could do the same with the Seleçao. 

But the Spaniard has managed to guide the team to nine wins in their last 15, and of their four defeats in that time, one was to Georgia in Euro 2024 after Portugal had already qualified for the knockout stages and fielded a weakened side. 

Still, it feels like the 51-year-old and his team should be doing better.

FIFA Ranking: 2

Les Blues just aren't as convincing as they should be.

They edged past a lackluster Croatia side on penalties to make the Nations League semifinal, and they don't seem to be making the most of Kylian Mbappé and the resurgent Ousmane Dembélé.

Draws with Israel, Poland and Canada in their last 15 games are seriously disappointing given the talent at Didier Deschamps' disposal—even in low stakes scenarios.

France could be lethal, but Deschamps' tactics are looking more lethargic.

FIFA Ranking: 4

The Thomas Tuchel era has officially started for England, and it's two wins from two so far. Victories against Albania and Latvia aren't much to write home about, of course, but you've got to start somewhere.

The Three Lions have suffered just two defeats in their last 15 games, with one of those being the Euro 2024 final against Spain.

England keeps knocking on the door, reaching consecutive finals in the Euros, but the team has yet to break through. A new manager could just push them to the promised land, although a lot of work will need to be done between now and the 2026 World Cup. 

If Tuchel can get the most out of Harry Kane, who struggled to be involved at times under Gareth Southgate, that could be the key to success.

FIFA Ranking: 10

Germany has lost just once since the start of 2024, and that was in extra time to Spain at Euro 2024.

Manager Julian Nagelsmann is doing a solid job after a rough start, and he's turning Germany into a force to be reckoned with once more.

The Nationelf just about scraped into the Nations League semifinals at the expense of Italy, but the manager will be concerned about conceding three second-half goals against the Azzurri.

Things are looking promising for Germany, and with a few more months to go until the side heads to North America, there's plenty of time to hone tactics and settle on a preferred XI. By the time July 2026 comes around, it could be considered the tournament favorite. 

FIFA Ranking: 1

The reigning World Cup and Copa America champion just miss out on our top spot.

Argentina has had a couple of bad results in its last seven games, including losses to Paraguay and Colombia and a draw with Venezuela. Despite that, La Albiceleste still have a formidable squad, and a 4-1 crushing of rivals Brazil was a statement of intent. They have also secured qualification for the upcoming World Cup.

Lionel Messi continues to dazzle at the age of 37 years old, but it's worth wondering whether he will still be performing at the very top level by the time July 2026 arrives.

However, Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister is not a bad collection of talent to rely on.

For now, Argentina isn't quite the favorite to repeat as world champion. That label is on the team that lands at No. 1 in this ranking.

FIFA Ranking: 3

The European champions just look so impressive.

Spain has not lost since a March 2024 friendly with Colombia, and even that is forgivable.

Everywhere you look on this roster there is quality, and that's true even without Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, who is still recovering from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams terrify opposing defenders, and Dani Olmo is a fantastic foil when playing around the No. 10 spot.

Could we be approaching another Spanish international footballing dynasty? All the pieces are in place to make that happen.