Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe Miss Top Spot in FIFA's Latest Power Rankings; German Star Bags Numero Uno Position

FIFA World Cup 2026: In what is extremely surprising, neither Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo or Kylian Mbappe own the top spot in the FIFA's Latest Power Rankings. One would have expected one of the three to be on top, but that is not the case. The top spot is occupied by Germany's Deniz Undav. The VfB Stuttgart player got 8.36 in attacking, 6.78 in creativity, and 4.7 in defending. Messi, who is the current top-scorer with six goals, finds himself on the second spot. 

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Messi has a score of 8.34 in attacking, 6.43 in creativity, and 5.14 in defending. Kylian Mbappe (8.13, 7.25, 4.59) and Vinicius Junior (7.92, 6.39, 4.75) are the No. 3 and No. 4 players. Portugal's Ronaldo is 79th (5.72, 4.98, 4.74).

Germany Knocked Out Via Penalties

It was a major triumph for the landlocked South American country of 7 million people that’s surrounded by soccer giants like Argentina and Brazil. And it was the latest surprising exit by Germany, a four-time champion that has struggled at the World Cup since it last lifted the trophy in 2014.

Paraguay, which entered the match ranked 41st by FIFA, became the deepest betting long shot to win a match in this World Cup. Germany came in as the 10th-ranked team in the world.

The Paraguayans will face the winner of Tuesday’s match between France and Sweden in the Round of 16 on Saturday in Philadelphia. A win on the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding would send Paraguay back to Foxborough for the quarterfinals on July 9.

Germany had won six of seven penalty shootouts in major tournaments, including six straight since losing to Czechoslovakia in the 1976 European Championship final.

In the only previous World Cup match between the teams, Germany beat Paraguay 1-0 in the round of 16 at the 2002 tournament. Nearly a quarter-century later, Paraguay got its revenge.