Spain Stays Atop FIFA World Ranking, U.S. Holds at 14th
by Richard Farley on Dec 16, 2009 12:10 PM EST
9 comments
Today, FIFA released the December edition of their corporate sponsor World Rankings, with the only change amongst the top fourteen seeing Russia move up one spot (to 12th) at the expense of Greece.
That means Spain remains first with Brazil second, with a huge gap separating them from the Netherlands.
The United States holds in fourteenth while Mexico fell two spots to seventeenth despite seeing their point total remain the same.
Egypt is the biggest mover amongst the top 50, moving up five spots to 24th. Serbia had the biggest point gain amongst the top 50, gaining 16 points.
Within that group, Romania had the biggest ranking drop, falling to 38th, and Bulgaria lost the most points, 26.
At the extremes, Nepal is the biggest riser, gaining 24 spots to climb to 152nd in the world, sharing that ranking with St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Jordan, now ranked 111th, had the largest points rise, gaining 111.
The biggest drop was suffered by Grenada, falling 35 spots to 145th after losing 153 points. They were part of a tough rating cycle for CONCACAF's second-tier, with Jamaica and Cuba also suffering large drops.
Here is the top 15:
| Rank | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 1627 |
| 2 | Brazil | 1568 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 1288 |
| 4 | Italy | 1209 |
| 5 | Portugal | 1176 |
| 6 | Germany | 1173 |
| 7 | France | 1117 |
| 8 | Argentina | 1085 |
| 9 | England | 1076 |
| 10 | Croatia | 1042 |
| 11 | Cameroon | 1035 |
| 12 | Russia | 1026 |
| 13 | Greece | 1016 |
| 14 | USA | 980 |
| 15 | Chile | 936 |
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I didn't know the top ten went to 15?
I guess if it can take three yellow cards for a red, then ten can equal 15 though.
Formerly ryebreadraz
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Dec 16, 2009 4:49 PM EST reply actions
At WSD ...
… you get 50% more value …
… with 50% less editing :(
If anybody’s wondering what we’ve talking about, the last sentence used to say “top ten.”
by Richard Farley on Dec 16, 2009 5:02 PM EST up reply actions
50% less editing is about 50% more editing than I use
so you’re still well ahead.
Formerly ryebreadraz
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Dec 16, 2009 6:04 PM EST up reply actions
These Fifa rankings alwasy make the USA look like their Confederations Cup placing should be a common occurance
and that we have had many a World Cup failure.
I guess the rankings are better than nothing.
Maybe better than nothing ...
… but I don’t know: Can you make an argument for Portugal being the fifth-best side in the world?
by Richard Farley on Dec 17, 2009 11:18 AM EST up reply actions
There are better rankings
Like SPI by Silver
I think most of the frustration with various soccer rankings is that they look back too long in time, where as most fans only pay attention to the last few months. Neither is very accurate.
The performance of a team in the 1998 WC has no relation to how they will perform now, none of those players are playing. At the same point a 2 match losing streak in Aug/Sept likely does not indicate how bad a team will be in July.
I am not a Supporter
I am not a Fan
I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
I think that's my favorite, too ...
… I’ve spent a lot of time looking at SPI and some of the data it tries to scoop-up. While there are still wild problems, frankly, any ranking system is going to have problems, and I can’t honestly say the output SPI produces is worst than a subjective list I’d create.
SPI is at least trying to establish a better context for the individual matches. That’s a big step forward.
by Richard Farley on Dec 17, 2009 1:07 PM EST up reply actions
A Strong Addition to SPI
Would be to look at pro-performances beyond the “Big Four” Leagues. I think that doesn’t offer enough detail, particularly for non-UEFA nations. Asia and CONCACAF are likely hurt the most, and maybe an SPI back in 2002 would have noticed that Korea and Japan were decent nations.
On a very small scale if Donovan goes OFF while with Everton, it will be exciting to see how much a bump that gives the USA.
I am not a Supporter
I am not a Fan
I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
Great point ...
… regarding Donovan, but you know: Dempsey’s already going off at Fulham. I believe he has 6 all-competition goals this season already.
But on SPI: That’s my biggest problem: It’s Euro-centricity. That might be the reason that it give England the highest ranking of the four measures I’ve ben using in my group reviews.
by Richard Farley on Dec 17, 2009 2:24 PM EST up reply actions
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