Morocco have moved three ranks higher according to the latest FIFA rankings. This was revealed in a statement shared by the global football governing body, FIFA, on Monday, January 19.

Morocco settled for second place at the 2025/26 AFCON after losing 1–0 to Senegal in the final. They fought hard and earned a penalty, which was, however, missed by Brahim Díaz after attempting a Panenka chip that was saved by Senegal’s goalkeeper, Édouard Mendy.

Senegal took the lead in the 94th minute after Pape Gueye found the back of the net in stoppage time, securing the team’s second AFCON title in five years.

Meanwhile, even though Morocco lost the title, they have earned a place in the top ten of the FIFA Men’s World Rankings, climbing from 12th position.

The 2022 World Cup semi-finalists’ previous best ranking was 10th, achieved in April 1998.

The highest ranking achieved by an African team was Nigeria’s fifth place in April 1994, while Egypt posted the best ranking among Arab nations, reaching ninth in July 2010.

Champions Senegal, who emerged victorious for a second time in the last three editions, moved up seven spots to reach their highest-ever ranking. Their previous best was 17th, achieved in 2024.

“The recently concluded CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has made a significant impact on the January 2026 edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking, with both finalists, perhaps unsurprisingly, making significant strides. Despite suffering heartbreak in the final, hosts Morocco (8th, up 3) can take comfort from returning to the top 10 for the first time since April 1998, reaching their best-ever position. AFCON winners Senegal (12th, up 7) have been rewarded for reclaiming the continental crown by scaling unprecedented heights of their own,” FIFA said in a statement.

Bronze medallists Nigeria (26th) were the team that gained the most points, collecting 79.09 points to move up 12 spots, the same as Cameroon (45th), making them the biggest climbers.

Egypt, which reached the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, climbed four places to 31st, three spots behind Algeria.

Gabon, who were eliminated in the group stage, lost 44.97 points to become the team that lost the most points, dropping to 86th. Equatorial Guinea, meanwhile, suffered the biggest fall, sliding 10 spots to 107th.

European champions Spain kept top spot ahead of World Cup holders Argentina. France is third, followed by England, Brazil, Portugal and the Netherlands, with no change in the ranking of the top seven teams.

Chaos, drama and Sadio Mane's intervention

The final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) was nothing short of controversial, chaotic and tense; however, the side widely alleged to be at the centre of it all was Senegal.

This followed Morocco being awarded a penalty after their player, Ayoub El Kaabi, tumbled in the box following contact with Senegal defender Abdou Diallo. The referee initially waved play on, but later intervened after a VAR review.

Following the check, Morocco were awarded a penalty, which clearly upset Senegal’s players, who believed the contact was minimal and that El Kaabi had gone down too easily.

Consequently, they staged a walk-off in protest on the pitch, but the intervention of their captain, former Liverpool forward Sadio Mané, persuaded them to continue the game. Their return, many believe, wasn’t just as a result of Mane’s intervention but also due to Morocco missing the penalty.

Diaz missed the resulting penalty as he bizarrely clipped a Panenka effort down the middle and straight at Edouard Mendy.

In an interesting turn of events, Pape Gueye notched a goal in stoppage time, giving Senegal a lead in the 94th-minute securing the team their second AFCON title.

Sadio explains the motive behind his actionFollowing their victory over Morocco, Mane, during an interview with the media, explained that even though the referee’s decision might have been wrong, the most important thing is to respect the game and keep playing, hence his decision to call his teammates back o the pitch to play as football is widely love globally and it will have been unfair to the people watching to see the game called off over one disputed call.

He said, “When they decided to go out and not play, I stayed and asked some people, ‘What do you think about this? Is it a good idea or not?’ Then I decided to go and bring everyone back to the pitch. I think it is the best thing to do.

“Because this is just football, I think the referee sometimes can make mistakes. People around the world are watching. It could be a penalty or not, but that is not the most important thing. What matters is respecting the game. It is not fair to stop a match like this.”