* No. 1 Argentina v No. 4 England and No. 2 France v No. 3 Spain
* All top 10 reached the Round of 16 of the 2026 edition and eight were in the last 16 of the Qatar 2022
By Duncan Mlanjira
The FIFA World Cup™ 2026 semifinals pits four teams who are in the top 4 of the FIFA World Rankings — No. 1 Argentina v No. 4 England and No. 2 France v No. 3 Spain.
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Released during the 2026 finals co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States of America (USA), Argentina retained their narrow lead over 2nd-placed France by less than a single point.
Morocco achieved a historic high at 6th place, leading all African nations and notable movers were Erling Haaland’s Norway, who made a massive jump during the tournament, climbing 12 spots.
At this 2026 edition, Norway qualified for their first-ever quarterfinal in which they were defeated 2-1 by England on Saturday night.
Last night’s game between England and Norway
The top 10 includes Brazil (5th), Morocco (6th), The Netherlands (7th), Portugal (8th), Mexico (9th) and Belgium (10th).
All these nations were in the Round of 16 in which Argentina saw off Africans Egypt 3-2, France beat Paraguay 1-0, Spain beat Portugal 1-0, England triumphed over co-hosts Mexico (3-2), Brazil were booted by Norway (2-1), Morocco ousted co-hosts Canada (3-0), and Belgium beat co-hosts USA 4-1.
Eight of these top 10 also reached the last 15 in Qatar 2022 — Argentina 2-1 Australia, France 3-1 Poland, England 3-0 Senegal, Netherlands 3-1 USA, Brazil 4-1 South Korea, Portugal 6-1 Switzerland, Morocco 0-0 Spain; with the Atlas Lions winning 3-0 on penalties) causing one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.
Africa was represented at the FIFA World Cup™ 2026, whose number of competing nations was increased to 48, by 10 teams — Morocco (1 in Africa and 6th in the world);, Senegal (2/16th); Egypt (4/29th); Côte d’Ivoire (5/30th); Algeria (6/31st); DR Congo (7/43rd); South Africa (11/61st); Cape Verde (13/64th) and Ghana (14/65th).
All but Algeria reached the Round of 32 — DR Congo knocked out by England; Ghanaeliminated by Colombia; and South Africa beaten by Canada.
Egypt advanced to the Round of 16 before suffering a loss to Argentina with Moroccoas the standout African team of the tournament, reaching the quarter-finals before being knocked out by France.
Group stage results
Group A
Mexico 2-0 South Africa
South Korea 2-1 Czechia
Czech Republic 1-2 South Africa
Mexico 1-0 South Korea
South Africa 1-0 South Korea
Czech Republic 0-3 Mexico
Group B
Canada 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Qatar 1-1 Switzerland
Switzerland 4-1 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Canada 6-0 Qatar
Switzerland 2-1 Canada
Bosnia & Herzegovina 3-1 Qatar
Group C
Brazil 1-1 Morocco
Haiti 0-1 Scotland
Scotland 0-1 Morocco
Brazil 3-0 Haiti
Morocco 4-2 Haiti
Scotland 3-0 Brazil
Group D
USA 4-1 Paraguay
Australia 2-0 Turkiye
USA 2-1 Australia
Turkiye 0-1 Paraguay
Turkiye 3-2 USA
Paraguay 0-0 Australia
Group E
Côte d’Ivoire 1-0 Ecuador
Germany 7-1 Curaçao
Germany 2-1 Côte d’Ivoire
Ecuador 0-0 Curaçao
Curaçao 0-2 Côte d’Ivoire
Ecuador 2-1 Germany
Group F
Netherlands 2-2 Japan
Sweden 5-1 Tunisia
Tunisia 0-4 Japan
Netherlands 5-1 Sweden
Tunisia 1-3 Netherlands
Sweden 1-1 Japan
Group G
Belgium 1-1 Egypt
Iran 2-2 New Zealand
Belgium 0-0
New Zealand 1-3
Egypt 1-1 Iran
New Zealand 1-5 Belgium
Group H
Spain 0-0 Cape Verde
Saudi Arabia 1-1 Uruguay
Uruguay 2-2 Cape Verde
Spain 4-0 Saudi Arabia
Cape Verde 0-0 Saudi Arabia
Uruguay 0-1 Spain
Group I
France 3-1 Senegal
Iraq 1-4 Norway
Norway 3-2 Senegal
France 3-0 Iraq
Norway 1-4 France
Senegal 5-0 Iraq
Group J
Argentina 3-0 Algeria
Austria 3-1 Jordan
Argentina 2-0 Austria
Jordan 1-2 Algeria
Jordan 1-3 Argentina
Algeria 3-3 Austria
Group K
Portugal 1-1 DR Congo
Uzbekistan 1-3 Colombia
Portugal 5-0 Uzbekistan
Colombia 1-0 DR Congo
DR Congo 3-1 Uzbekistan
Colombia 0-0 Portugal
Group L
England 4-2 Croatia
Ghana 1-0 Panama
England 0-0 Ghana
Panama 0-1 Croatia
Panama 0-2 England
Croatia 2-1 Ghana
Knockout stages results
Round of 32
* South Africa 0-1 Canada
* Jordan 1-3 Argentina
* Brazil 2-1 Japan
* Germany 1(3)-1(4) Paraguay
* Netherlands 1(2)-1(3) Morocco
* Côte d’Ivoire 1-2 Norway
* France 3-0 Sweden
* Mexico 2-0 Ecuador
* England 1-2 DR Congo
* Belgium 3-2 Senegal
* USA 2-0 Bosnia & Herzegovina
* Spain 3-0 Austria
* Portugal 2-1 Croatia
* Switzerland 2-0 Algeria
* Australia 1(2)-1(4) Egypt
* Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde
* Colombia 1-0 Ghana
Round of 16
* Canada 0-3 Morocco
* Paraguay 0-1 France
* Brazil 1-2 Norway
* Mexico 2-3 England
* Portugal 0-1 Spain
* USA 1-4 Belgium
* Argentina 3-2 Egypt
* Switzerland 0(4)-0(3) Colombia
Quarterfinals
* Morocco 0-2 France
Belgium 1-2 Spain
* Norway 1-2 England
* Argentina 3-1 Switzerland
Semifinals
Tuesday, July 14
France v Spain
Wednesday, July 15
* England v Argentina
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