France leads global ranking ahead of quarter-final fixtures
France leads the 2026 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Cup ranking as the top-ranked team in the tournament.
Didier Deschamps’ men are heading into the quarterfinal against fifth-place Morocco in yet another World Cup knockout clash, with great expectations for Les Bleus.
France has won all their last five games thanks to an incredible team of numerous world-class players.
Two key players, Michael Olise and Kylian Mbappé, have impressed for France. Olise is leading the assist tally in the tournament, and Mbappe is joining Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.
Reigning champions Argentina sit in second place and are determined to achieve another historic feat after their dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Egypt in the round of 16.
Despite being unbeaten in the tournament, Lionel Scaloni’s side has conceded seven goals in their last three fixtures, with only two narrow victories.
Argentina face seventh-place Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Sunday, following their victory against Colombia.
Spain’s third spot remains unchanged after knocking out Portugal in the last 16. The Spaniards face Belgium on Friday to seal a spot in the quarter-finals.
Belgium takes sixth spot on the rankings following their victory, thrashing co-hosts the U.S. 4-1 in the round of 16.
England are in fourth place, behind Norway, who are in eighth place on the rankings. The Three Lions face the Norwegians on Saturday in a tough match for both sides.
For England, it is a chance to break their losing streak against European nations in World Cup knockout matches, while Norway fights to advance past the last eight of the tournament for the first time in the country’s history.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
States
Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future
The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Heading 2
Your approach to livestream exclusion ‘grossly inappropriate’, South African presidency tells Fani-Kayode
Mr Fani-Kayode hadalleged that the South African presidency omitted the introduction of the Nigerian delegation and his speech during livestream.
Hot news Home top
WHO hails Nigeria as 62 contacts test negative for Ebola after 21-day isolation
Mr Ghebreyesus said Nigeria had entered the second half of the mandatory 42-day countdown.
Diaspora
20 Nigerians arrested in Pakistan over alleged drug trafficking
According to the ANF, the arrests followed a series of intelligence-gathering operations targeting drug dealers in the country.
Heading 3
Living in Nigeria under Tinubu unbearable; cooking gas unaffordable: Atiku
Mr Abubakar said he was in Bauchi to continue preaching his affordable life campaign.
Politics
2027: Osun APC stages campaign walk for Tinubu’s re-election
Mr Oyebamiji said the APC was targeting 1.7 million votes for the president in Osun.
States
Gov Bago directs provision, repair of transformers across Chanchaga communities
The chairman said Mr Bago was concerned about the impact of prolonged power outages on households and businesses.
