Guatemala climbed two places to 95th in FIFA's world ranking on 7 October 2026, a move that followed a sharp run through September and early October and gave the Guatemala national football team a better position heading into November. The team had been stuck at 97th since the July revision before the latest update moved it up.
The rise was earned the hard way. Guatemala opened Group B with a 3-2 away loss to Jamaica in Kingston on 25 September, then turned the month around with a 6-0 win over El Salvador in Ciudad de Guatemala three days later. It kept the momentum in October with a 0-0 draw away against Surinam in Paramaribo and then beat Surinam 1-0 on 5 October, when Matt Evans struck in added time.
Those results left Guatemala with seven points, two wins, one draw and one loss, enough to finish first in the group on goal difference over Jamaica and Surinam, who also ended level on points. The ranking change reflects that short burst of results, not a slow build over months, and it arrived immediately after Guatemala secured a place in the cuartos de final de la Liga de Naciones de Concacaf for the first time.
That is also where the small catch sits inside the good news. Guatemala improved, but the new mark still did not match its best position of 2026, so the climb was welcome without being complete. The team now moves into November with Canada next at BMO Stadium in Toronto, a quarterfinal that will show whether this ranking lift is the start of something bigger or just a brief jump after a productive window.
