The latest FIFA women's soccer rankings dropped on Thursday, with Spain widening their lead at No. 1 after winning a second consecutive UEFA Nations League title earlier this month.
The USWNT held steady at No. 2, ceding 7.48 points after losing an October friendly to No. 22 Portugal before going on to secure four straight wins over Portugal, No. 35 New Zealand, and No. 13 Italy to close out 2025.
Elsewhere in the FIFA Top 10, No. 3 Germany and No. 6 Brazil both saw boosts after successful fall runs, while Canada skidded to No. 10 amid a recent five-match winless streak, with Les Rouges's last victory coming against No. 43 Costa Rica last June.
The biggest changes, however, occurred outside the top ranks, as No. 96 Nicaragua, No. 118 Burkina Faso, and No. 137 American Samoa all rose by 16 spots.
Notably, upcoming USWNT opponent Paraguay saw the largest drop in this month's Top 50, sliding five spots to No. 46.
Ultimately, as the USWNT battled to keep pace in a year of roster experimentation — and without a major competition on the team's 2025 docket — the many international competitions in Europe benefitted victors and challenged losers in this week's FIFA rankings update.
Spain star Aitana Bonmati is out for the rest of the 2025/26 season due to injury, after the Barcelona midfielder fractured her left fibula on Sunday while training for the second leg of La Roja's 2025 Nations League finale against Germany.
The reigning three-time Ballon d'Or winner immediately departed her national team camp to return to Barcelona for further injury testing, with the Liga F club confirming on Tuesday morning that Bonmati underwent a "successful surgery" and will likely miss five months of play while recovering.
With the 27-year-old notching six goals and three assists for her club so far this season, Barcelona will first take the pitch without their superstar for five matches this month — including a pair of 2025/26 UEFA Champions League bouts against Portugal's Benfica and France's Paris FC.
Meanwhile, though Bonmatí featured in world No. 1 Spain's 0-0 first-leg draw with No. 5 Germany on Friday, the already short-handed defending Nations League champions must now contend without their midfield standout in a winner-take-all second-leg match for the 2025 trophy on Tuesday.
How to watch Spain vs. Germany in the 2025 Nations League Final
The 2025 UEFA Nations League final between No. 1 Spain and No. 5 Germany will kick off at 12:30 PM ET on Tuesday, with live coverage on Paramount+.
World No. 1 Spain will take aim at a second-straight UEFA Nations League title this week, as La Roja take on No. 5 Germany in the first leg of the 2025 tournament's final at 2:30 PM ET on Friday.
The defending Nations League champions booked their spot in the 2025 final by dismantling No. 3 Sweden 5-0 on aggregate in the semifinal round, while Germany advanced after a tense 3-2 aggregate win over No. 6 France.
Germany must also contend with availability issues during Friday's match, as 28-year-old Bayern Munich forward and senior national team leading scorer Lea Schüller will be out due to family reasons.
To overcome that disadvantage, German head coach Christian Wück is reinforcing the team's back line, adding Athletic Bilbao defender Bibi Schulze Solano to the roster on Wednesday.
Also aiming to shut down Spain's offensive firepower on Friday is new NWSL champion goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who joined her German compatriots late following Gotham FC's title celebrations in New York this week.
While Spain and Germany will contend for the 2025 Nations League trophy this week, the pair — along with ousted semifinalists Sweden and France — have already booked spots in the top group of teams battling for tickets to the 2027 World Cup, with UEFA qualifying set to begin in 2026.
Europe's top soccer teams have started down their 2027 World Cup paths, with UEFA revealing the field of 2026 European Qualifiers in a Tuesday morning league-stage draw.
Reigning world champion and world No. 1 Spain headlines the results, with La Roja set to face 2023 World Cup runners-up — and newly minted back-to-back Euro champs — No. 4 England in Group A3, while Group A1 pits perennial titans No. 3 Sweden against rising stars No. 12 Italy.
Group A2 will see No. 6 France taking on the No. 11 Netherlands, with No. 5 Germany and No. 13 Norway headlining Group A4.
A total of 11 UEFA teams will clinch spots in the 2027 World Cup via the European Qualifiers, which kick off in March 2026, though one additional UEFA nation will earn the opportunity to try and punch a ticket to the Brazil-hosted tournament via an inter-continental playoff in February 2027.
Based on the 2025 Nations League results, UEFA teams fell into three leagues entering the 2026 qualifiers, with League A and B housing 16 squads each while League C holds 21.
The winners of League A's four groups will directly qualify for the World Cup, while the remaining League A teams along with top finishers from League B and C will move on to a series of playoffs to ultimately determine the seven other direct UEFA qualifiers, plus the inter-confederation play-off contender.
The 2026 UEFA World Cup Qualifiers League A Groups
- Group A1: No. 3 Sweden, No. 12 Italy, No. 14 Denmark, No. 35 Serbia
- Group A2: No. 6 France, No. 11 Netherlands, No. 26 Poland, No. 27 Republic of Ireland
- Group A3: No. 1 Spain, No. 4 England, No. 17 Iceland, No. 34 Ukraine
- Group A4: No. 5 Germany, No. 13 Norway, No. 19 Austria, No. 38 Slovenia
World No. 5 Germany is heading to the 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League Final, advancing with a narrow 3-2 aggregate advantage after surviving a semifinals comeback bid from No. 6 France in Tuesday's 2-2 draw.
The German women will next face reigning Nations League champions and world No. 1 Spain in this winter's two-legged finale, after the perennial titans quickly dispatched No. 3 Sweden by adding a 1-0 Tuesday victory to advance on a lopsided 5-0 aggregate score.
The two-match 2025 Nations League championship will kick off on November 28th in Germany, before Spain hosts the second leg on December 2nd.
While Germany's international prowess isn't new — with the program's resume boasting two World Cup wins (2003, 2007), an Olympic gold medal (2016), and eight of the 14 total Euros titles — the German Federation is doubling down on the national team's future by making a landmark €100 million investment into the country's top-flight domestic league: the Women's Bundesliga.
The German Football Association (DFB) announced the plan last week, with the DFB General Assembly readying to vote on the funds at next month's meeting.
Once approved, the move will mark the largest single investment in German women's football history.
"We want to ensure that the women's Bundesliga can stand on its own two feet: economically, structurally, and in terms of visibility," DFB president Bernd Neuendorf told German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau. "It is an investment in the future — in equality, in opportunity, and in the growth of the women's game."
Germany and Spain are taking the 2025 UEFA Nations League tournament by storm, with both European powerhouses earning shutout wins on Friday to claim a lead in their two-leg semifinals.
World No. 5 Germany took down No. 6 France 1-0 behind a goal from winger Klara Bühl, while a pair of braces from midfielder Alexia Putellas and forward Clàudia Pina lifted No. 1 Spain to a massive 4-0 win over No. 3 Sweden.
"The victory here feels incredibly good and also the way we played, we played football the way we wanted to," Bühl said in Düsseldorf following Friday's game. "Very, very strong match, I think the fans have noticed it."
"We expected a Sweden like the one we saw, very intense, but once again the team were very mature in many aspects of the game, and we're very happy with the performance," Spain defensive midfielder Laia Aleixandri said postgame.
How to watch the 2025 Nations League semifinals
Both Germany and defending Nations League champions Spain will try to punch their ticket to the 2025 final on Tuesday, while France and Sweden attempt big wins to lift themselves over their opponents on aggregate.
The second leg of the Nations League semifinals kicks off with Sweden vs. Spain at 2 PM ET before France hosts Germany at 4:10 PM ET.
Live coverage of Tuesday's semifinals will air on Prime.
This weekend's slate of international soccer features more than one blockbuster matchup, as some of the summer's top performers, including England and Brazil, begin the long process of preparing for the 2027 World Cup.
Reigning UEFA Women's Euro champions England will be hosting 2025 Copa América Femenina winners Brazil at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Saturday, when the Lionesses officially kick off their four-game Homecoming Series to close out 2025 play.
The match between world No. 4 England and No. 7 Brazil will serve as the first of the series of friendlies that will span the final two international breaks of the year, with the Lionesses closing out the opening pair of games against No. 15 Australia on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, while England fans will be enjoying the team's victory lap after their second-straight Euro title, other top UEFA competition are honing in on 2025 Nations League play.
Behind a long-range goal from winger Klara Bühl, No. 5 Germany snagged a narrow 1-0 victory over No. 6 France on Friday morning, taking the lead in the pair's two-leg semifinal.
The second Nations League semifinal round kicks off at 2 PM ET on Friday, when No. 1 Spain faces No. 3 Sweden live on Prime.
How to watch England vs. Brazil this weekend
England takes on Brazil at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage streaming on Prime.
World No. 2 Spain clinched their first-ever UEFA Women's Euro final berth on Wednesday, when the 2023 World Cup champions handed eight-time title-winners No. 3 Germany a narrow 1-0 extra-time defeat in their 2025 semifinal.
"I'm proud because we deserve it," winning goal-scorer Aitana Bonmatí told reporters afterwards. "We had a tremendous championship. It was the first time we beat Germany, and on top of that, we reached the final."
Entering the match with a 5-0-3 (W/L/D) all-time record against La Roja, Germany arrived shorthanded, as both injuries and suspensions forced them to start every available defender.
The squad's famed football mentality prevailed for more than 110 minutes in a 0-0 deadlock, with Spain struggling to break down a committed German defense led by reigning NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year Ann-Katrin Berger.
As the clock ticked down in extra time, however, an audacious 113th-minute strike from Bonmatí caught the Gotham FC keeper off-guard, earning La Roja both a first historic win over the Germans as well as a shot at their second major tournament trophy in three years.
The once-improbable 2023 World Cup final rematch is now a reality, as familiar foes Spain and No. 5 England gear up for another championship battle.
"I know what they can do," said Spain and Arsenal midfielder Mariona Caldentey of the defending Euro champs. "It will be a hard game."
How to watch the 2025 Euro final
No. 2 Spain will next look to unseat 2022 champion No. 5 England when the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 final kicks off at 12 PM ET on Sunday.
The 2025 Euro grand finale will air live on Fox.
The defending Euro champs have done it again, as No. 5 England advanced to the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 Final with a 2-1 extra-time semifinals victory over No. 13 Italy — pulling off yet another knockout-stage comeback win.
"We're going to make a movie someday," manager Sarina Wiegman told BBC Radio 5 after the Lionesses' unlikely turnaround. "Well, this is a movie. My goodness, it's unbelievable."
The Italian underdogs had the upset dialed in for most of the match, as veteran midfielder Barbara Bonansea put the Azzurre ahead 1-0 in the 33rd minute while the team locked into a sturdy defense that carried them through the end of regulation time.
However, 19-year-old England Euro super-sub Michelle Agyemang played hero in final minutes of stoppage time, scoring her second late equalizer in as many games to force the match into extra time.
As extra time drew to a close, England were awarded a controversially soft penalty, and though Italian goalkeeper Laura Giuliani originally denied the shot, second-half sub Chloe Kelly buried the rebound to give the Lionesses their 2-1 game-winning scoreline.
"Four years ago, I was just a kid throwing balls to some of these girls, now I'm playing with them," said senior team newcomer and breakout star Agyemang, who served as a ball girl during the 2022 Euro Final at London's Wembley Stadium.
How to watch the second match of the 2025 Euro semifinals
Eight-time European title-winners No. 3 Germany will close out the 2025 semifinals against 2023 World Cup champions No. 2 Spain at 3 PM ET on Wednesday.
The clash will air live on FOX.
The UEFA Women's Euro 2025 semifinals kick off on Tuesday afternoon, as the four remaining nations — England, Italy, Germany, and Spain — battle it out for one of two tickets to Sunday's tournament final.
Notably, a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final is still on the table, with both England and Spain advancing on opposite ends of the bracket.
Three of the four semifinal squads showcase a wealth of international experience and history, while surprise underdog Italy is surging in an attempt to shock the world.
- No. 5 England vs. No. 13 Italy, Tuesday at 3 PM ET (FOX): While Italy eyes their first major tournament final appearance since 1993, the 2022 Euro champion Lionesses will look to bounce back from their tightly contested quarterfinal clash.
- No. 3 Germany vs. No. 2 Spain, Wednesday at 3 PM ET (FOX): Expect the reigning World Cup champions to have an edge over a tested German side, but don't discount Germany's mental resolve after their own dramatic quarterfinal win.
A significant factor in the 2025 Euro semifinals will be athlete availability, as multiple teams continue to rotate their lineups deep into the tournament.
England will hope for captain Leah Williamson's return after the center back exited their quarterfinal with an ankle injury, while Germany and Spain navigate absences due to mounting yellow- and red-card violations.