Morocco Rises to Fifth in FIFA’s Live World Ranking, Matching Africa’s All-Time Best
Morocco has climbed to fifth place in FIFA’s live men’s world ranking, matching the highest position ever reached by an African national team, a mark Nigeria set in April 1994.
The move followed a 1-1 draw between Brazil and Australia in a friendly in Townsville on Friday. Brazil’s dropped points pushed the five-time world champions below Morocco in FIFA’s real-time calculation, which updates automatically as results come in. Morocco had entered the current ranking period in sixth place, directly behind Brazil.
FIFA’s live ranking is not the governing body’s official standing. According to FIFA’s website, live figures remain provisional until the matches behind them are confirmed as international “A” fixtures, at which point they feed into a monthly official release. One outlet reported that FIFA’s most recent official list was published July 20, with the next official update expected Oct. 7.
In FIFA’s live order, world champions Spain sit first, ahead of Argentina, France and England, with Morocco fifth. Morocco is well clear of the next African side, Senegal, which sits 19th, followed by Egypt in 24th, Nigeria in 26th and Ivory Coast in 30th.
A gradual climb since the World Cup
Morocco’s position builds on a run that began before this year’s World Cup. The team, coached by Mohamed Ouahbi, entered the tournament ranked seventh, its best mark at the time, after a string of pre-tournament friendly wins. It reached the quarterfinals at the 2026 World Cup and finished seventh overall, drawing 1-1 with Brazil in the group stage along the way. FIFA’s official ranking placed Morocco sixth after the tournament, in the July 20 update — the best position held by an African side since Nigeria’s 1994 mark, according to one football-data outlet, though not matching it outright.
Some tournament-era reporting described Morocco’s live ranking briefly touching fifth during the World Cup group stage in June, after a 1-0 win over Scotland. That figure did not carry into FIFA’s subsequent official releases, which had Morocco no higher than sixth as of July 20. It is not clear from available reporting whether that June figure reflected the same live methodology cited this week or an earlier, unconfirmed calculation; this article treats Friday’s move to fifth as the position now being reported across multiple outlets as unprecedented for Morocco, while noting the earlier claim could not be independently corroborated.
What the ranking measures
FIFA’s ranking system, revised in 2018, awards and deducts points using a variant of the Elo method, weighing the outcome of a match, the strength of the opponent and the competitive importance of the fixture. Friendlies typically carry less weight than qualifiers or tournament matches, meaning a single result such as Brazil’s draw with Australia can shift the order without either side playing.
Background
Nigeria’s fifth-place finish in April 1994 has stood for more than three decades as the high-water mark for an African team in the FIFA ranking system, which was introduced in December 1992. Morocco’s own record before this year topped out at eighth, reached in January 2026 after the team lost the Africa Cup of Nations final to Senegal on penalties. It broke that mark repeatedly over the following months: to seventh in June, ahead of the World Cup, then to sixth in the July 20 official release, described at the time as Africa’s best official position in 32 years.
Morocco has also held the top spot among African and Arab teams throughout this period, ahead of continental rivals including Senegal, Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria.
What follows
Morocco’s hold on fifth place, even in the unofficial live count, is not guaranteed to last. The team opens its 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign against Gabon in Rabat, then travels to face Lesotho on Sept. 29 in Bloemfontein, South Africa, before a friendly against Ghana on Oct. 4 in Tangier. Results in Group A, which also includes Niger, will factor into whether Morocco holds its position when FIFA issues its next official ranking. Brazil, for its part, plays Australia again this coming Tuesday before further fixtures later in the international window.
Whether fifth place will be confirmed in FIFA’s official October release, and whether the North African side can hold off Brazil and other rivals once more competitive matches resume, remains unconfirmed.
Sources
Reporting on the live ranking and its context is corroborated across three regional sports outlets; the World Cup and prior-ranking background draws on additional Moroccan and pan-African sports press, plus FIFA’s own association page.
Pan-African and international sports press
- Africasoccer.com, “Morocco overtake Brazil to reach record fifth in FIFA rankings.” https://africasoccer.com/morocco-overtake-brazil-to-reach-record-fifth-in-fifa-rankings/
- Africasoccer.com, “Morocco move above Brazil into fifth in FIFA world ranking.” https://africasoccer.com/morocco-move-to-fifth-in-live-fifa-world-ranking/
- Yabiladi (en.yabiladi.com), “Morocco rises to historic fifth in FIFA world rankings.” https://en.yabiladi.com/articles/details/203701/morocco-rises-historic-fifth-fifa.html
Local press
- Morocco World News, “Morocco Climb to Fifth in Live FIFA Ranking.” https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2026/09/339748/morocco-climb-to-fifth-in-live-fifa-ranking/
- Le360 (en.le360.ma), “Morocco rise to fifth in FIFA rankings, highest position in nation’s history.” https://en.le360.ma/sports/morocco-rise-to-fifth-in-fifa-rankings-highest-position-in-nations-history_LX5XIXUJYRBYRJTXCV42B4TTWE/
Background and prior rankings
- FreeMalaysiaToday, “Morocco achieve record Fifa ranking, Senegal rise to 12th” (Jan. 20, 2026). https://fmtv5.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/sports/2026/01/20/morocco-achieve-record-fifa-ranking-senegal-rise-to-12th
- Morocco World News, “Morocco Climbs to 7th in Latest FIFA World Rankings” (June 3, 2026). https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2026/06/314512/morocco-climbs-to-7th-in-latest-fifa-world-rankings/
- Africasoccer.com, “World Cup 2026: Morocco climb to fifth in FIFA Rankings after Scotland victory” (June 2026 — reports a tournament-era live ranking figure not corroborated by later official releases). https://africasoccer.com/world-cup-2026-morocco-climb-to-fifth-in-fifa-rankings-after-scotland-victory/
- FIFA, Moroccan Football Association page. https://inside.fifa.com/en/about-fifa/associations/MAR
Editor’s note on sourcing FIFA’s own site was used only to confirm that live rankings are provisional pending confirmation of “A”-match status; it did not carry the September figures directly at the time of reporting, so those are attributed to the outlets above. A June 2026 report describing Morocco touching fifth place mid-World Cup, after a win over Scotland, is flagged rather than treated as settled: it appeared in only one outlet reviewed, conflicts with Morocco’s confirmed sixth-place finish in FIFA’s July 20 official release, and could not be corroborated elsewhere, so it is presented here as an unresolved discrepancy rather than fact. The precise point totals behind Friday’s move were not independently verified against FIFA’s own live-ranking page and are therefore omitted.
