A few important notes to reiterate: This study is of former players who passed away, most of whose careers came from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. The game is played under different rules and protocols today, and the study's own authors caution that these numbers can't be applied to active players. If you're a former player experiencing memory issues, mood changes, sleep problems, or anything neurological, please see a specialist rather than assuming the worst. Many conditions share these symptoms, including anxiety, depression, and sleep apnea, and they are very treatable. Full study: The BMJ 2026;394:e100418 (open access)

I know I spelled a couple things wrong…

Note that the rankings are as of last week, before a chunk of teams had some friendly matches. There were very slight shift since then because of it but most things are very close to the same! Top 4 are now ARG, ESP, FRA, ENG in that order and US is now 17th