Power rankings preview: Spain lead while England closes the gap for 2026 World Cup

After each international break, we'll be ranking the 10 sides that look in the best shape to reign supreme in the United States, Canada and Mexico based on their form and the strength of their squad.

Here's how things stand with under a year to go.

10. Ecuador (-3)

It wasn't the best international break for Ecuador, who were held to 1-1 draws by the USA and Mexico, both of whom were the better team against La Tri.

They did extend their unbeaten streak to 13 matches, but they've now also won just one of their last seven. It remains a commendable run given the win was against Argentina and one of the draws was against Brazil, but they definitely seem to be losing momentum.

9. The Netherlands (re-entry)

After drawing to Poland and scraping past Lithuania in September, the Netherlands looked much better a month later, claiming 4-0 wins over Malta and Finland that left them all but certain of a place at the World Cup.

The fact that they've yet to beat a top side since Ronald Koeman just under three years ago remains a big concern, but with the amount of quality in their starting XI, their potential is unquestionable.

They return to the top 10 in place of Germany, who once again failed to convince in a narrow, somewhat fortuitous win over Northern Ireland.

8. Norway (+2)

Norway climb two places after dishing out yet another thrashing - a 5-0 win over Israel - in what has been a remarkable qualifying campaign for them, one that has consisted of a 100% record, 29 goals scored and three goals conceded across their six matches.

Erling Haaland is in unstoppable form, and the support act of Martin Odegaard, Oscar Bobb, Ahmed Nusa and Alexander Sorloth isn't half bad either.

They may have followed up their win over Israel with a draw against New Zealand, but of that key group of players, only Bobb started that match. When at full strength, they're looking absolutely lethal.

7. Morocco (+1)

Morocco hardly gave their all in a friendly with Bahrain and a dead-rubber qualifier with Congo, but 1-0 wins in both mean they've now won 23 of their 25 matches. Only taking into account matches contested by their first-choice squad - their African Nations Championship selection consisted only of domestic players - they've won 16 in a row, which is a new record in men's international football.

They continue to prove that their historic run to the semi-finals at the last World Cup was no fluke, and will gain further tournament experience when they host the Africa Cup of Nations at the end of this year.

They're a real contender.

6. Brazil

For the first one and a half matches of the latest international break, it looked like things were starting to click for Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil, with them thrashing South Korea 5-0 and heading into the break 2-0 up against Japan. And then it all went wrong.

They were completely outplayed in the second half in Tokyo, ultimately losing 3-2, leaving them with just three wins from their six matches under Ancelotti.

It feels mad to have them outside of the top five in these rankings given their squad and their manager, but they're looking less than the sum of their parts at the moment.

5. Portugal (-1)

As was the case in the last break, Portugal were given a lot of problems by Hungary in the rematch in Lisbon, and this time, they couldn't find a way to win, drawing 2-2. Before that, they just barely beat Ireland, getting a last-gasp winner.

Their superior xG in both matches showed they're still playing well, but Roberto Martinez will be anxious to see Cristiano Ronaldo and co become more clinical in front of goal.

4. France (-1)

Like Portugal, France too were held to a 2-2 draw by an opponent they claimed a narrow win against in September, only taking a point against Iceland.

It would be a mistake to read too much into that given how often they've looked shaky under Didier Deschamps over the years only to step things up at major tournaments, but there are three sides looking stronger than them right now.

3. England (+2)

Thomas Tuchel's England are starting to purr. The Three Lions became the first side from Europe to qualify for the World Cup thanks to a 5-0 win over Latvia, and beat Wales 3-0 a few days prior, all without the services of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer.

They've yet to concede a single goal in their six competitive matches under Tuchel. The German may not give the fans the exciting football they want against weaker sides, but he's getting the results.

2. Argentina

The biggest question surrounding Argentina is how they'll cope if Lionel Messi opts not to play the World Cup, and they gave a fairly positive answer against Venezuela, only winning 1-0 but creating a huge number of chances with an attack consisting of Nico Paz, Julian Alvarez, Lautaro Martinez and Giovani Lo Celso.

Stating the obvious, they remain better with the greatest player of all time in their ranks, as he showed in their 6-0 win over Puerto Rico a few days later, but with or without Messi, they're in good shape to defend their crown.

1. Spain

Spain remain the favourites for the World Cup following comfortable wins over Georgia and Bulgaria that they were able to claim without star man Lamine Yamal.

Excluding penalty shootouts, they now haven't lost in 23 matches dating back to March of 2023. Oh, and Pedri is fast becoming the best midfielder in the world.

More information about the 2026 World Cup on Flashscore