The Argentina national football team has successfully claimed the top spot in the FIFA rankings, overtaking France.

Argentina’s national team has officially taken over the FIFA No.1 ranking from France, but this achievement could bring potential misfortune for Lionel Messi and his teammates at the 2026 World Cup.

La Albiceleste climbed to the top of the world rankings with little difficulty after Les Bleus suffered a defeat against Ivory Coast on Friday (June 5, 2026) early morning local time.

In that friendly match, France fell 1-2 to Ivory Coast at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes.

Playing on home soil, Les Bleus took the lead in the 45th minute through Rayan Cherki.

However, the advantage disappeared in the second half when Ivory Coast scored twice through Guela Doue in the 53rd minute and Amad Diallo in the 84th minute.

This loss cost France 7.89 points, bringing their total FIFA ranking score down to 1869.43 points.

As a result, they dropped from first to third place in the upcoming FIFA ranking update scheduled for June 10, 2026.

This situation allowed Argentina to move into the top spot, especially since Spain also dropped points after a 1-1 draw with Iraq on the same day.

Even if Argentina loses their upcoming friendly against Honduras on Sunday (June 7, 2026), Lionel Messi and his teammates will still remain the top-ranked team.

That means Argentina will begin their 2026 World Cup campaign as the world’s No.1 team.

Unfortunately, this ranking position could spell trouble for La Albiceleste when competing in the four-year tournament.

According to World Football, since FIFA introduced its ranking system in 1992, no team ranked No.1 before the World Cup has ever gone on to win the tournament.

In the 1994 edition, Germany held the top spot before the competition, but Brazil emerged as champions.

In 1998, Brazil were ranked No.1 but lost to France in the final.

In 2002, France entered as the top-ranked team but were eliminated in the group stage, with Brazil lifting the trophy.

The pattern continued in 2006 when Brazil led the FIFA rankings, yet Italy won the World Cup.

In 2010, Brazil again held the No.1 spot but exited in the quarterfinals, while Spain claimed the title.

Similarly, in the 2014, 2018, and 2022 editions, Germany, France, and Argentina became world champions even though none of them were ranked first in the FIFA standings.

Despite the historical curse of the top-ranked team, Argentina is determined to break the trend at the 2026 World Cup.

As the defending champions, the Tango team aims to emulate Italy and Brazil, who have both achieved back-to-back World Cup victories.

Their squad selection reflects this ambition, as Argentina continues to rely heavily on the core group of players who won the 2022 World Cup.

Additionally, Lionel Messi’s presence could make a significant difference, as La Pulga is expected to play in the final World Cup of his career.