Kinshasa, January 20th, 2026 (CPA).- The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been ranked 48th in the world and 9th in Africa in the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) rankings on January 19th, according to the global football governing body’s website, consulted on Tuesday by CPA. According to this new FIFA ranking, which has taken into account the participation of African countries and their respective results in the 2025 African Cup of Nations (CAN) football tournament, held from December 21st, 2025 to January 18th, 2026 in Morocco, DRC has jumped forward several places compared to the last ranking established on December 22nd which had placed it 56th in the world. This progress has also been noted for many other countries on the continent where the hierarchical order has not undergone significant disruption. Thus, Morocco, host and finalist of the 2025 AFCON, has been ranked 11th in the world and 1st in Africa, followed by Senegal, the winner of the competition, in 12th place worldwide and 2nd on the continental stage. This order of magnitude has been completed by Nigeria (26th), Algeria (28th), Egypt (31st, Ivory Coast (37th, +12), Cameroon (45th, +12), Tunisia (47th), DRC (48th, +8), Mali (54th, -1), South Africa (60th, +1), Burkina Faso (62nd), Cape Verde (67th), Guinea (80th), Gabon (86th), Uganda (88th), Zambia (91st), Benin (92nd), Mozambique (101st), Madagascar (104th, +1).
Spain leads the way on the world stage
At the world level, Spain has been placed at the top of the rankings, followed by Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Morocco, Belgium and Germany.
Jamaica and New Caledonia far behind DRC
As for DRC, with regard to the intercontinental play-offs for the 2026 World Cup, scheduled for March 2026 in Mexico, the two countries it is waiting for the winners of the semi-finals to face in the final are ranked far below it in the world rankings. These are Jamaica and New Caledonia, ranked 70th and 150th in the world respectively.