By winning largely against Ukraine to punch their ticket for the 2026 World Cup (4-0), the French team fulfilled its contract for this last meeting of the year. The Blues did not shine three days later in Azerbaijan, but they did the job with an second team to collect a second victory (3-1).
This perfect record in accounting terms is, however, not enough to progress in the FIFA rankings. Third behind Spain and Argentina, France started too far away to hope to beat its tormentor in the 2022 World Cup final. With 1,870 points, France has nevertheless narrowed the gap with Argentina, but it missed 3.32 units to catch up with the Albiceleste, in an ever tighter ranking. After this podium, England and Brazil complete the top 5.
The updated FIFA rankings
1. Spain – 1883.80 points
2. Argentina – 1873.32 points
3. France – 1870.00 points
4. England – 1834.12 points
5. Brazil – 1762.83 points (+2)
6. Portugal – 1760.38 points (-1)
7. Netherlands – 1756.27 points (-1)
8. Belgium – 1730.02 points
9. Germany – 1724.15 points (+1)
10. Croatia – 1716.88 points (+1)
