FIFA World Rankings: Scotland plummet as Steve Clarke's difficult World Cup task laid bare by new table
Scotland have taken a major drip in the latest FIFA rankings
Scotland have taken a major dip in the latest FIFA World Rankings table ahead of their much-anticipated return to the World Cup in North America this summer.
Steve Clarke’s side suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats against Japan and Ivory Coast in their first pre-tournament friendlies over the March international break. They will also face friendly games against Curacao at Hampden on May 30 and Bolivia in New Jersey on June 6. Scotland will open their World Cup against Haiti on June 13 at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. Their Group C opponents also include Morocco and Brazil.
Booed by a section of the home support following the defeat to Japan last weekend, Clarke voiced his displeasure at the reaction to the performance, saying: “Look, it’s just the modern way. It seems to be, now, that if you lose a game you get booed. You’ve just got to deal with it. But it disappoints me. You have to look at the quality of the opposition player. They are a top class team.”
Scotland had risen as high as 38th in the table following wins over Greece, Belarus and Denmark - the latter 4-2 victory at Hampden in November having ended their 28-year wait to qualify for the World Cup. A marked improvement, it remained slightly short of their best position of 30th under the tutelage of Clarke back in September 2023.
However, the defeats by Japan and Ivory Coast have resulted in Scotland taking one of the biggest drops in the latest FIFA world rankings, falling five places to 43rd - their lowest position since September 2025. With a total of 1,498.35 points, they are sandwiched between Hungary and Tunisia and are now the third-highest-ranked home nation.
The list saw Scotland’s World Cup opponents Brazil drop to sixth, while Morocco and Haiti retained eighth and 83rd place respectively. England retained fourth position, while Wales fell two places to 37th. France jumped two places to reclaim the number one spot, with Spain in second and Argentina in third.
The latest FIFA world rankings list means that Scotland could enter the World Cup as the second-lowest-ranked UEFA side at the competition. Only Bosnia and Herzegovina (65th) currently place below them in the table.
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