According to Sunday Guardian Live, Morocco occupies 5th place in the provisional FIFA ranking, ahead of Brazil and Portugal. A rise that follows the Atlas Lions’ 5-1 win over Niger in the AFCON 2027 qualifiers.
Morocco is once again forcing its way into the upper reaches of the world ranking. According to Sunday Guardian Live, the Atlas Lions sit 5th in a provisional FIFA ranking in which they are ahead of Brazil and Portugal, against a backdrop of poor results for the two South American and European heavyweights.
A position that comes four years after the 2022 World Cup adventure, when head coach Walid Regragui led Morocco all the way to the semi-finals. This is a provisional ranking: the FootAfrica editorial team refers readers to the publication of the official ranking on the FIFA website for confirmation.
Two defeats that make room
The context for this rise, as reported by Sunday Guardian Live, comes down to two results: Brazil lost 3-2 to Japan in a friendly, while Portugal went down 4-1 to Denmark. Two reverses that would have opened the door to the top 5 for the Atlas Lions.
The outlet also links this progress to the 5-1 win by Walid Regragui’s men over Niger in the AFCON 2027 qualifiers. All these elements come from a single source, and FIFA’s official figures will, or will not, confirm them.
This is not Morocco’s first spell in that part of the ranking: they had already reached 5th place in September 2026, before slipping back to 7th in October, again according to Sunday Guardian Live.
Four years of progress since 2022
The trajectory is no isolated accident. Ranked 22nd in the world going into the 2022 World Cup, Morocco came out of it in 11th place, after becoming under Walid Regragui the first African and Arab nation to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup.
What followed confirmed that establishment among the major nations: 8th place in January 2026, their return to the top 10 for the first time since 1998, then a quarter-final at the 2026 World Cup, according to the same source.
One point remains that the outlet highlights but FootAfrica cannot verify: this 5th place would equal the best-ever ranking by an African nation, set by Nigeria in April 1994. A reference to be checked before presenting it as fact.
Niger to validate what comes next
The calendar offers the Atlas Lions an immediate appointment: Niger, on 17 November 2026, for matchday 4 of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers. According to Africa Top Sports, a win could allow Morocco to confirm their qualification on that matchday, a possibility rather than a certainty.
Morocco will therefore go into that fixture with the provisional 5th place, to be confirmed by the official FIFA ranking.