Morocco return to FIFA’s top five after Niger win

Morocco have moved back up to fifth in the FIFA world rankings after their 5-1 victory over Niger in Casablanca.

The Atlas Lions climbed from seventh to fifth on Saturday following the third round of qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. Achraf Hakimi scored twice and provided an assist in Friday’s win.

Morocco initially overtook Brazil, who were beaten by Japan on Saturday. Their position improved again later in the evening when Portugal lost to Denmark.

The Moroccan side must now hold on to fifth place until the end of the international window. During the previous ranking period, they had reached the top five for the first time in their history and became the first African national team to do so.

However, they remained there for only nine days.

A 1-1 draw with Mali in a friendly on 4 October contributed to Morocco’s subsequent drop. Their ranking was also affected by Brazil’s improved results against Australia and India, as well as Portugal’s perfect record during the same period.

Morocco consequently fell one place below the position they had occupied after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup for a second successive time. They had been sixth after that tournament.

They can strengthen their hold on fifth place by beating Niger again in Rabat next Tuesday in the fourth round of qualifying. A convincing victory would secure that position regardless of the results recorded by Brazil and Portugal against Singapore and Wales respectively.

The FIFA ranking is updated in real time before being finalised and published on 18 November, at the conclusion of the FIFA international window.