Europe FIFA Rankings: Best national teams from the continent revealed

The latest FIFA World Rankings for all 55 European national teams have been unveiled.

France remain top of the European FIFA rankings ahead of European championship runner-ups England.

Les Bleus ended 2023 with a string of solid performances in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, qualifying for the tournament as Group B leaders ahead of Netherlands. FIFA has named France as Europe’s best national team, ranking them above England and Belgium.

European FIFA Rankings

Here is the full list of the national teams in Europe based on their latest FIFA rankings as of 21 December 2023.

#	National Team	Points
1	France	1845.44
2	England	1800.05
3	Belgium	1798.46
4	Netherlands	1745.48
5	Portugal	1745.06
6	Spain	1732.64
7	Italy	1718.82
8	Croatia	1717.57
9	Germany	1631.22
10	Switzerland	1613.44
11	Denmark	1601.31
12	Ukraine	1553.35
13	Austria	1546.1
14	Sweden	1530.19
15	Hungary	1525.13
16	Wales	1521.88
17	Poland	1520.24
18	Serbia	1517.43
19	Scotland	1506.89
20	Turkey	1505.28
21	Russia	1498.84
22	Czech Republic	1494.04
23	Romania	1472.73
24	Norway	1472.36
25	Slovakia	1465.73
26	Greece	1453.95
27	Slovenia	1427.84
28	Finland	1401.31
29	Ireland	1399.6
30	Albania	1382.69
31	North Macedonia	1362.17
32	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1343.32
33	Montenegro	1342.64
34	Iceland	1338.39
35	Northern Ireland	1333.17
36	Israel	1323.43
37	Georgia	1312.45
38	Bulgaria	1289.9
39	Luxembourg	1285.41
40	Armenia	1237.15
41	Belarus	1232.8
42	Kazakhstan	1215.16
43	Kosovo	1202.77
44	Azerbaijan	1174.22
45	Estonia	1149.7
46	Cyprus	1143.42
47	Faroe Islands	1102.1
48	Latvia	1097.84
49	Lithuania	1086.93
50	Moldova	1022.6
51	Andorra	998
52	Malta	967.29
53	Gibraltar	840.8
54	Liechtenstein	833.01
55	San Marino	741.61

How are FIFA rankings calculated?

FIFA rankings, more than just numerical placements, hold significant implications for team positioning in qualification draws and major tournaments. The calculation process, established by FIFA in 1992, underwent a major transformation in 2018. Formerly based on an average points system over a set period, the current method involves continuous adjustments to a team’s total points, allowing for upward or downward movement.

The key determinant of points revolves around the caliber of opponents faced in recent games, with victories against higher-ranked teams contributing more points. Expected results and the context of the game also play crucial roles, giving more weight to matches in prestigious tournaments over friendly encounters. The complex point calculation, as provided by FIFA, combines game importance and results to ascertain the percentage of points awarded.