Morocco rises to seventh in FIFA rankings, highest ever for Arab and African teams

Morocco's national football team has climbed to seventh place in the FIFA monthly rankings, setting a historic benchmark as the highest-ranked side among all Arab and African nations. The North African side's ascent comes ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with recent friendly match victories helping cement the ranking improvement. Morocco reached the semifinals at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, becoming the first African team to advance that far in the tournament's history. Elsewhere, the Netherlands slipped in the rankings after a 1-0 defeat to Algeria in Rotterdam. Anis Haji Musa scored the decisive goal for Algeria. Morocco will face Norway in its final friendly before opening World Cup group stage play. Walid Regragui coaches the Moroccan national team, which will aim to maintain its ranking position through competitive results on the pitch.