Spain have been crowned world champions for the second time after a tense 1-0 extra‐time victory over Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final, bringing the expanded tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico to a dramatic close.
The showpiece match on Sunday night went beyond the regulation 90 minutes before Spain finally broke the deadlock, securing a second global title to add to their previous triumph and denying Argentina a further chapter of World Cup glory.
This World Cup was the first in history to feature 48 teams, spread across three host nations in North America, marking a significant expansion of football’s biggest tournament.
In a high‐scoring third‐place play‐off, England defeated France 6-4 to secure their best finish at a World Cup since lifting the trophy in 1966.
Expanded 48-team format makes historic debut
FIFA’s official website has published the full ranking of all 48 participating national teams, from champions Spain to 48th‐placed Iraq, following the conclusion of the competition.
The 2026 tournament was the first to include 48 sides instead of the traditional 32, with teams drawn from every confederation and spread across venues in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Alongside the headline drama of Spain’s triumph and England’s six‐goal salvo in the bronze‐medal match, FIFA has set out how every nation’s final position was calculated once they were eliminated.
How FIFA determined the final rankings
For teams knocked out at the same stage, FIFA says their positions in the overall table are decided according to several statistical criteria across all their matches at the tournament.
The primary factor is:
– Total number of points obtained from all matches at every stage (with games decided by penalty shootouts counted as draws)
The article text also listed key performance areas that underpin team and player assessments during the competition:
– Goalkeeping – goal protection
– Goalkeeping – possession
– Attack
– Playmaking
– Defence
Beyond points, FIFA then applies a standard set of tie‐breaking measures:
– Overall goal difference across all matches
– Total number of goals scored across all matches
If two or more teams remain inseparable even after these measures, they share the same final position in the table.
This explains, for example, why Morocco and Switzerland are both listed in joint seventh place, and Ecuador and South Africa are both ranked 25th.
Spain top, Argentina second – full final table
According to the final standings published by FIFA, the 48 teams finished as follows:
1. Spain
2. Argentina
3. England
4. France
5. Norway
6. Belgium
7. Morocco
7. Switzerland
9. Mexico
10. Colombia
11. Brazil
12. United States
13. Portugal
14. Canada
15. Egypt
16. Paraguay
17. Netherlands
18. Germany
19. Ivory Coast
20. Croatia
21. Japan
22. Australia
23. Democratic Republic of Congo
24. Ghana
25. Ecuador
25. South Africa
27. Sweden
28. Austria
29. Bosnia and Herzegovina
30. Algeria
31. Senegal
32. Cape Verde
33. Iran
34. South Korea
35. Turkey
36. Scotland
37. Uruguay
38. Saudi Arabia
39. Czech Republic
40. New Zealand
41. Qatar
42. Curacao
43. Panama
44. Jordan
45. Haiti
46. Uzbekistan
47. Tunisia
48. Iraq
The rankings underline a tournament of surprises and shifting power balances. Norway secured fifth place, ahead of several traditional heavyweights, while African nations such as Morocco (joint 7th), Ivory Coast (19th) and Ghana (24th) recorded notable finishes.
As the curtain falls on the first 48‐team World Cup, attention will now shift to how this expanded format will evolve – and whether Spain can build on their second star when the tournament returns in 2030.
