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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

FIFA Ranking: April 2010 preview (I)

Point totals for teams from the top 20 of the October 2007 ranking should be 100% correct. For the others, there's the issue of historical rankings published before July 2006.

Included: matches up to and including March 30th, 2010.

Next update: April 7 or 9.

Only three matches (all friendlies) will be included in this ranking:

31/Mar Chile - Venezuela
31/Mar Paraguay - South Africa
7/Apr Japan - Serbia

Here's how the totals can change for these six teams:

Chile (W: 973, D: 948, L: 936)
Serbia (W: 944, D: 912, L: 896)
Paraguay (W: 843, D: 822, L: 812)
Japan (W: 701, D: 683, L: 674)
Venezuela (W: 622, D: 596, L: 583)
South Africa (W: 393, D: 374, L: 364)

In the ranking table, the value displayed for these teams is the minimum possible value. This means that even if they lose, their total can't drop.

Brazil back on top. Portugal up to third.

Best movers:

10 - Lithuania
7 - Peru
6 - Slovenia and Armenia

Worst movers:

-16 - Bolivia
-15 - Macau
-13 - Pakistan

Best movers in the top 50:

10 - Latvia
6 - Slovenia
5 - Colombia and Finland

Worst movers in the top 50:

-8 - Paraguay
-7 - Northern Ireland
-5 - Switzerland and Slovakia

Iran keep on climbing - now 4th in AFC.

Portugal up to 2nd in Europe.

April 2010 rank - Team - April 2010 points - +/- Ranking - +/- Points

1 Brazil 1611 1 22
2 Spain 1565 -1 -37
3 Portugal 1249 1 35
4 Netherlands 1221 -1 -40
5 Italy 1184 0 1
6 Germany 1107 0 -50
7 Argentina 1084 2 9
8 England 1068 -1 -52
9 Croatia 1052 1 1
10 France 1044 -2 -33
11 Russia 1003 1 -6
12 Greece 968 -1 -64
13 Egypt 967 1 0
14 USA 950 2 2
15 Chile 936 -2 -38
15 Mexico 936 2 15
17 Uruguay 902 1 0
18 Serbia 896 -3 -54
19 Cameroon 887 1 0
20 Australia 883 -1 -15
20 Nigeria 883 2 0
22 Norway 879 2 26
23 Slovenia 860 6 50
24 Israel 857 4 46
25 Ukraine 855 1 18
26 Switzerland 854 -6 -33
27 Côte d'Ivoire 846 -2 0
28 Romania 843 4 45
29 Czech Republic 827 1 18
30 Algeria 821 -3 0
31 Paraguay 812 -8 -43
32 Ghana 802 -1 0
33 Turkey 798 2 28
34 Colombia 777 5 36
35 Denmark 767 -1 -11
36 Ecuador 763 0 -2
37 Sweden 757 3 18
38 Honduras 750 -2 -15
39 Slovakia 742 -6 -49
40 Bulgaria 740 -2 -24
41 Gabon 707 2 0
42 Costa Rica 706 0 -11
43 Republic of Ireland 690 1 -14
44 Scotland 684 -3 -48
45 Japan 674 0 -18
46 Latvia 652 0 -14
47 Korea Republic 619 2 -10
48 Lithuania 616 10 46
49 Finland 605 5 17
50 Bosnia-Herzegovina 604 -3 -38
51 Burkina Faso 589 1 0
52 Venezuela 583 -4 -50
53 Peru 579 7 42
54 Mali 575 3 2
55 Tunisia 574 1 0
56 Hungary 567 -4 -22
57 Northern Ireland 555 -7 -73
58 Poland 552 1 -10
59 Benin 531 2 0
60 FYR Macedonia 521 5 12
60 Iran 521 3 3
62 Belgium 518 4 12
63 Canada 516 1 0
64 Austria 509 -9 -73
65 Montenegro 500 4 16
66 Saudi Arabia 495 -4 -25
67 Bolivia 491 -16 -106
68 Cyprus 488 2 18
69 Bahrain 482 -2 -19
70 Morocco 469 -2 -19
71 Zambia 452 0 0
72 El Salvador 451 2 14
73 Togo 438 0 0
74 Uganda 437 0 0
75 Wales 429 2 13
76 Panama 421 0 -9
77 Senegal 414 -5 -30
78 New Zealand 413 1 4
79 Jamaica 412 -1 0
80 Albania 406 3 17
81 Belarus 397 -1 -7
82 Iraq 394 -1 0
82 Malawi 394 -1 0
84 Moldova 392 3 19
85 Angola 390 1 10
85 China PR 390 -1 8
87 Guinea 381 -2 0
87 Haiti 381 4 19
89 Mozambique 378 0 7
90 Iceland 367 0 3
90 Trinidad and Tobago 367 3 17
92 South Africa 364 -4 -8
93 Gambia 361 -1 0
94 Uzbekistan 354 1 9
95 Qatar 351 2 9
96 Kuwait 348 -2 0
97 Oman 346 -1 2
98 Syria 342 -1 0
99 Congo 320 0 -9
100 Armenia 311 6 19
101 United Arab Emirates 310 1 13
102 Libya 305 -1 0
103 Jordan 297 -1 0
104 Estonia 296 -4 -21
105 Korea DPR 295 0 2
106 Thailand 294 -2 0
107 Rwanda 269 0 0
108 Tanzania 259 1 0
109 Yemen 258 -1 -4
110 Azerbaijan 257 0 0
111 Congo DR 253 0 0
112 Namibia 251 0 1
113 Zimbabwe 248 0 0
114 Kenya 243 0 0
115 Guatemala 241 0 0
116 Botswana 238 0 2
117 Cape Verde Islands 236 -1 0
118 Vietnam 231 1 0
119 Antigua and Barbuda 217 1 0
119 Georgia 217 -1 -15
121 Sudan 211 0 0
122 Guyana 205 0 0
123 Ethiopia 204 0 0
124 Grenada 198 4 10
125 Cuba 196 0 0
125 Faroe Islands 196 0 0
127 Luxembourg 193 -3 -5
127 Singapore 193 0 0
129 Kazakhstan 180 0 3
130 Fiji 167 1 0
131 Swaziland 165 1 1
132 India 164 0 0
133 Sierra Leone 162 2 0
134 Bermuda 160 2 0
135 Barbados 157 2 0
135 Tajikistan 157 -5 -19
137 Turkmenistan 154 -3 -9
138 Indonesia 153 0 -2
139 Hong Kong 150 1 0
140 Suriname 147 1 0
141 Equatorial Guinea 142 2 -3
142 Myanmar 141 -1 -6
143 Maldives 129 -4 -22
144 Chad 128 0 0
145 Burundi 127 0 0
146 New Caledonia 126 0 0
147 Malaysia 123 0 0
148 Liechtenstein 117 3 5
149 Madagascar 115 5 5
150 Lesotho 114 -2 -2
151 Liberia 113 5 7
151 St. Kitts and Nevis 113 -2 0
153 Vanuatu 108 2 0
154 Malta 103 4 1
155 Nicaragua 101 5 0
156 Sri Lanka 99 1 -4
157 Lebanon 98 -8 -15
157 Netherlands Antilles 98 5 0
159 Eritrea 95 4 0
160 Bangladesh 94 -2 -8
161 Kyrgyzstan 92 -10 -20
161 Nepal 92 -1 -9
161 Niger 92 4 0
164 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 91 2 0
165 Mauritania 81 3 0
166 Chinese Taipei 78 -3 -17
166 Pakistan 78 -13 -33
168 Puerto Rico 76 1 0
169 Solomon Islands 60 1 0
170 Philippines 55 -3 -31
171 Cambodia 54 0 -2
172 Comoros 43 2 0
173 Mauritius 40 3 0
174 Cayman Islands 39 3 0
174 Laos 39 3 0
174 Palestine 39 -1 -6
174 Seychelles 39 1 -2
174 Somalia 39 3 0
179 Samoa 38 1 0
180 Mongolia 36 -8 -12
181 Bahamas 34 1 0
181 Belize 34 1 0
181 Cook Islands 34 1 0
184 Dominica 33 1 0
185 Turks and Caicos Islands 32 1 0
186 Tonga 28 1 0
187 Dominican Republic 26 1 0
188 Djibouti 23 2 0
189 Guinea-Bissau 19 3 0
189 St. Lucia 19 3 0
189 Tahiti 19 3 0
192 British Virgin Islands 18 3 0
193 Afghanistan 17 -2 -3
193 Brunei Darussalam 17 -4 -8
193 Guam 17 3 0
196 Macau 16 -15 -20
197 Aruba 11 1 0
197 Bhutan 11 -1 -6
199 US Virgin Islands 5 0 0
200 Timor-Leste 4 0 0
201 Andorra 2 0 0
202 American Samoa 0 0 0
202 Anguilla 0 0 0
202 Central African Republic 0 0 0
202 Montserrat 0 0 0
202 Papua New Guinea 0 0 0
202 San Marino 0 0 0

About me:

Christian, husband, father x 3, programmer, Romanian. Started the blog in March 2007. Quit in April 2018. You can find me on LinkedIn.

March 2010: FIFA Ranking vs. Elo Ratings

Top 10 differences for countries with a better Elo Rating:

Team - FIFA Ranking - Elo Rating - Difference

Central African Republic 202 132 70
Solomon Islands 170 119 51
Guinea-Bissau 192 142 50
Tahiti 192 148 44
Oman 96 59 37
Niger 165 129 36
Papua New Guinea 202 166 36
Syria 97 63 34
China PR 84 51 33
New Caledonia 146 115 31

Top 10 differences for countries with a better FIFA Ranking:

Team - FIFA Ranking - Elo Rating - Difference

Algeria 27 75 -48
Luxembourg 124 169 -45
Gabon 43 87 -44
Benin 61 104 -43
Burkina Faso 52 88 -36
Faroe Islands 125 155 -30
Pakistan 153 182 -29
Malawi 81 109 -28
Latvia 46 73 -27
Northern Ireland 50 76 -26

Top 50 nations only (in the top 50 in at least one of the rankings)

Top 10 differences for countries with a better Elo Rating:

Team - FIFA Ranking - Elo Rating - Difference

Korea Republic 49 24 25
Sweden 40 21 19
Saudi Arabia 62 43 19
Iran 63 44 19
Turkey 35 17 18
Republic of Ireland 44 28 16
Denmark 34 20 14
Japan 45 31 14
Poland 59 46 13
Colombia 39 27 12

Top 10 differences for countries with a better FIFA Ranking:

Team - FIFA Ranking - Elo Rating - Difference

Algeria 27 75 -48
Gabon 43 87 -44
Latvia 46 73 -27
Northern Ireland 50 76 -26
Slovenia 29 47 -18
Greece 11 28 -17
Cameroon 20 37 -17
Nigeria 22 39 -17
Slovakia 33 49 -16
Ghana 31 41 -10

Matches I would have liked to see before April 28th:

Korea Republic - Algeria
Sweden - Latvia
Saudi Arabia - Gabon
Iran - Northern Ireland
Turkey - Slovakia
Republic of Ireland - Slovenia
Denmark - Greece
Japan - Bolivia
Poland - Burkina Faso
Colombia - Hungary

About me:

Christian, husband, father x 3, programmer, Romanian. Started the blog in March 2007. Quit in April 2018. You can find me on LinkedIn.

Monday, March 29, 2010

2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying - Probable Asian format

I made a mistake in this Asian World Cup seeding post, as jonny pointed out in this comment. I assumed the qualifiers will start in October 2011 with the draw taking place in August 2011 - using the same time table as last time.

Actually, the first round will take place this year in October. Probably the draw will take place in August.

I managed to find the 2014 World Cup Asian qualifying format (sort of), by checking the AFC calendar of competitions for 2010 - 2014.

AFC seem pretty sure of keeping their 4.5 spots - or at least that's how I see it - with round 5 and 6 used for play-off purposes.

10 match days in round 4 - possible groups of 6 teams, but I think it will be groups of 5 teams, as amir pointed out.

Round 1 and 2 are a bit tricky - round 1 in particular. Will teams qualified for Qatar 2011 be involved in the first round?

Most likely format:

Round 1

MD1 - 8 October 2010
MD2 - 12 October 2010

Round 2

MD1 - 25 March 2011
MD2 - 29 March 2011

Round 3

Most likely there will be a draw in April or May 2011.
5 groups of 4 teams - winners and runner-ups go to the next round.

MD1 - 7 June 2011
MD2 - 6 September 2011
MD3 - 11 October 2011
MD4 - 11 November 2011
MD5 - 15 November 2011
MD6 - 29 February 2012

Round 4

A draw for this round will take place sometime before May 2012.
2 groups of 5 teams. Winners and runner-ups qualify for Brazil 2014.

MD1 - 9 June 2012
MD2 - 13 June 2012
MD3 - 11 September 2012
MD4 - 16 October 2012
MD5 - 14 November 2012
MD6 - 22 March 2013
MD7 - 26 March 2013
MD8 - 4 June 2013
MD9 - 11 June 2013
MD10 - 18 June 2013

Round 5

AFC play-off (third placed teams)

MD1 - 6 September 2013
MD2 - 10 September 2013

Round 6

Intercontinental play-off

MD1 - 15 October 2013
MD2 - 15 November 2013

For those interested, these are the 2015 Asian Cup qualifying dates:

Asian Cup

Round 1

MD1 - 1 September 2012
MD2 - 5 September 2012

Round 2

MD1 - 2 February 2013
MD2 - 6 February 2013
MD3 - 15 October 2013
MD4 - 15 November 2013
MD5 - 19 November 2013
MD6 - 5 March 2014

I think AMD stands for Alternative Match Day - 11, 18 and 25 January 2014.

About me:

Christian, husband, father x 3, programmer, Romanian. Started the blog in March 2007. Quit in April 2018. You can find me on LinkedIn.

Friday, March 26, 2010

2014 FIFA World Cup seeding for UEFA teams (26 March 2010)

The preliminary draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup took place on November 25th, 2007 and used the November 2007 FIFA ranking.

Assumptions:

- UEFA will again have 13 spots
- UEFA will again use the system with 9 groups
- FIFA will use the FIFA ranking to seed the teams
- FIFA will hold the draw in November 2011

The November 2011 FIFA ranking will include matches played between November 2007 and November 2011. We already have the "0.2" and "0.3" parts (matches played between November 2007 and November 2009) - that's basically 25% of the final ranking and a bit of the "0.5" part (matches played between November 2009 and November 2010). A lot can and will change before November 2011 as there are many matches to be played involving European teams: 2010 FIFA World Cup, EURO 2012 qualifiers and plenty of friendlies.

UEFA will only use the national team coefficient for the European Championships draws (qualifying and final tournament).

This is the November 2011 ranking (for UEFA only) using matches played up to and including March 26th, 2009 and matches scheduled up to November 2010 (only those on fifa.com). I've also added the EURO 2012 fixtures from UEFA.com.

The "0.5" part is computed this way: points gained / (number of matches played + scheduled).

England and Denmark replace France and Slovenia in the first pot.
Turkey and Sweden replace Israel and the Republic of Ireland in the second pot.
Poland and Austria replace Montenegro and Romania in the third pot.
Belarus and Albania replace Belgium and Macedonia in the fourth pot.
Moldova replace Faroe Islands in the fifth pot.

Rank - Previous rank - Team - Total points
 1  1 Spain                    492
2 4 Netherlands 374
3 2 Portugal 300
4 9 Russia 296
5 6 Italy 292
6 13 England 283
7 8 Germany 280
8 3 Greece 278
9 10 Denmark 273
----------------------------------
10 12 Croatia 267
11 7 France 264
12 5 Slovenia 263
13 11 Serbia 245
14 14 Switzerland 242
15 16 Ukraine 231
16 21 Turkey 225
17 23 Sweden 221
18 17 Bulgaria 220
----------------------------------
19 18 Israel 217
20 15 Republic of Ireland 215
21 25 Norway 208
22 28 Poland 203
23 27 Bosnia-Herzegovina 200
24 19 Slovakia 196
25 20 Czech Republic 194
26 29 Austria 185
27 22 Latvia 182
----------------------------------
28 34 Scotland 177
29 24 Montenegro 174
30 26 Romania 168
31 30 Hungary 167
32 30 Northern Ireland 148
33 33 Finland 145
34 32 Lithuania 140
35 37 Belarus 135
36 42 Albania 131
----------------------------------
37 36 Belgium 123
38 43 Iceland 120
39 34 FYR Macedonia 119
40 40 Cyprus 108
41 38 Wales 105
42 39 Azerbaijan 100
43 41 Estonia 99
44 47 Moldova 77
45 44 Armenia 72
----------------------------------
46 45 Faroe Islands 68
47 49 Georgia 61
48 46 Luxembourg 58
49 48 Kazakhstan 51
50 50 Malta 27
51 51 Liechtenstein 15
52 52 Andorra 0
52 52 San Marino 0

About me:

Christian, husband, father x 3, programmer, Romanian. Started the blog in March 2007. Quit in April 2018. You can find me on LinkedIn.

Monday, March 22, 2010

2014 FIFA World Cup seeding for AFC (22 March 2010)

29 March 2010: The qualifiers will start in October 2010, so the preliminary draw (for the first two rounds) will probably take place in August 2010. The first group stage (round 3) starts in June 2011 - with a possible draw taking place in April or May 2011. More info on the format.
_________________________

On July 19th, 2009 the AFC Competitions Committee decided to use the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification format for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

More details on the seeding in this post:

2014 FIFA World Cup seeding for AFC

However, they changed their mind on December 7th, 2009.

AFC approves MD1 for 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Will the AFC use the FIFA ranking to seed the teams? It's possible.

Assumptions:

- AFC will again have 4.5 spots
- AFC will keep the current qualifying system
- AFC will use the FIFA ranking to seed the teams
- AFC will choose the July 2011 ranking for seeding

The July 2011 FIFA ranking will include matches played between July 2007 and July 2011. We already have the "0.2" part (matches played between July 2007 and July 2008) and the "0.3" part (matches played between July 2008 and July 2009) - that's 25% of the formula. A lot can and will change before July 2011 as there are many matches to be played involving Asian teams: 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2011 Asian Cup and plenty of friendlies.

This is the July 2011 ranking (for AFC only) using matches played up to and including March 21st, 2010 and matches scheduled up to July 2010 (only those on fifa.com).

The "0.5" part is computed this way: points gained / (number of matches played + scheduled).

Rank - Team - Total points
 1 Australia            353
2 Japan 286
3 Korea Republic 264
4 Iran 254
5 Saudi Arabia 247
6 Bahrain 242
---------------------------
7 Oman 181
8 Kuwait 176
9 China PR 175
10 Syria 173
11 Uzbekistan 170
12 United Arab Emirates 162
13 Qatar 156
14 Korea DPR 155
15 Jordan 145
16 Thailand 142
17 Iraq 137
18 Yemen 128
19 Singapore 104
20 India 89
21 Tajikistan 86
22 Turkmenistan 85
23 Vietnam 76
24 Hong Kong 74
25 Indonesia 67
26 Maldives 66
---------------------------
27 Malaysia 64
28 Myanmar 60
29 Bangladesh 56
30 Lebanon 55
31 Nepal 51
31 Sri Lanka 51
33 Kyrgyzstan 44
34 Pakistan 43
35 Philippines 34
36 Chinese Taipei 33
37 Laos 16
38 Mongolia 15
38 Cambodia 15
40 Palestine 13
41 Afghanistan 11
42 Guam 10
43 Brunei Darussalam 9
44 Macau 6
44 Bhutan 6
46 Timor-Leste 3

About me:

Christian, husband, father x 3, programmer, Romanian. Started the blog in March 2007. Quit in April 2018. You can find me on LinkedIn.

2014 FIFA World Cup seeding for CAF (22 March 2010)

The preliminary draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup took place on November 25th, 2007 and used the July 2007 FIFA ranking.

Assumptions:

- CAF will again have 5 spots
- CAF will keep the current qualifying system
- FIFA will use the FIFA ranking to seed the teams
- CAF will choose the July 2011 ranking for seeding

The July 2011 FIFA ranking will include matches played between July 2007 and July 2011. We already have the "0.2" part (matches played between July 2007 and July 2008) and the "0.3" part (matches played between July 2008 and July 2009) - that's 25% of the formula. A lot can and will change before July 2011 as there are many matches to be played involving African teams: 2010 FIFA World Cup, CAN 2012 qualifiers and plenty of friendlies.

This is the July 2011 ranking (for CAF only) using matches played up to and including March 21st, 2010 and matches scheduled up to July 2010 (only those on fifa.com).

The "0.5" part is computed this way: points gained / (number of matches played + scheduled).

Malawi replace Mozambique in the first pot.
Gambia replace Zimbabwe in the second pot.

Rank - Previous rank - Team - Total points
 1  2 Egypt                    542
2 5 Gabon 409
3 7 Nigeria 389
4 1 Cameroon 361
5 3 Côte dIvoire 359
5 4 Algeria 359
7 6 Burkina Faso 338
8 9 Ghana 336
9 8 Mali 266
10 11 Tunisia 264
11 10 Benin 257
12 14 Malawi 235
----------------------------------
13 13 Togo 234
14 24 Uganda 232
15 19 Zambia 228
16 12 Mozambique 176
17 23 Angola 171
18 15 Morocco 170
19 21 Libya 166
20 22 Senegal 159
21 28 Gambia 147
22 16 Guinea 144
23 19 South Africa 141
24 18 Congo 135
----------------------------------
25 16 Zimbabwe 131
26 26 Rwanda 126
27 25 Kenya 120
28 27 Tanzania 110
29 29 Sudan 100
30 32 Namibia 97
30 33 Botswana 97
32 30 Cape Verde Islands 96
33 31 Congo DR 88
34 34 Swaziland 76
35 35 Sierra Leone 74
36 36 Madagascar 73
----------------------------------
37 37 Chad 67
38 38 Burundi 52
39 39 Equatorial Guinea 51
40 40 Lesotho 47
40 40 Niger 47
42 43 Ethiopia 42
43 42 Liberia 39
44 47 Eritrea 29
45 44 Somalia 23
45 44 Mauritania 23
47 46 Comoros 19
48 48 Mauritius 15
----------------------------------
49 49 Guinea-Bissau 12
49 49 Djibouti 12
51 51 Seychelles 11
52 52 Central African Republic 0
52 52 Sao Tome e Principe 0

About me:

Christian, husband, father x 3, programmer, Romanian. Started the blog in March 2007. Quit in April 2018. You can find me on LinkedIn.

2014 FIFA World Cup seeding for CONCACAF teams (22 March 2010)

The preliminary draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup took place on November 25th, 2007 and used the May 2007 FIFA ranking (for CONCACAF).

Assumptions:

- CONCACAF will again have 3.5 spots
- CONCACAF will again use the same qualifying system
- FIFA will use the FIFA ranking to seed the teams

The May 2011 FIFA ranking will include matches played between May 2007 and May 2011. We already have the "0.2" and "0.3" parts (matches played between May 2007 and May 2009) - that's basically 25% of the final ranking and almost all of the "0.5" part (matches played between May 2009 and May 2010). A lot can and will change before May 2011 as there are many matches to be played involving CONCACAF teams: 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2010 Caribbean Championship, 2011 UNCAF Nations Cup and plenty of friendlies.

This is the May 2011 ranking (for CONCACAF only) using matches played up to and including March 21st, 2010 and matches scheduled up to May 2010 (only those on fifa.com).

The "0.5" part is computed this way: points gained / (number of matches played + scheduled).

USA back on top. Guatemala (11th after winning against El Salvador) climbed to third pot, knocking Antigua and Barbuda to 4th pot. The first 12 teams avoid each other in the knock-out rounds.

Rank - Previous rank - Team - Total points
 1  2 USA                            494
2 1 Mexico 427
3 3 Honduras 396
----------------------------------------
4 4 Costa Rica 367
5 5 Canada 273
6 6 El Salvador 234
----------------------------------------
7 7 Panama 215
8 8 Jamaica 211
9 9 Trinidad and Tobago 186
10 10 Haiti 174
11 13 Guatemala 123
12 11 Grenada 115
----------------------------------------
13 12 Antigua and Barbuda 112
----------------------------------------
14 14 Guyana 87
14 14 Cuba 87
16 16 Bermuda 80
17 17 Barbados 70
18 18 Suriname 67
19 19 Netherlands Antilles 57
20 20 St. Kitts and Nevis 56
21 21 Nicaragua 53
22 22 Puerto Rico 48
23 23 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 26
24 24 Cayman Islands 24
----------------------------------------
25 25 Belize 22
26 31 Dominica 18
27 26 St. Lucia 13
27 26 Turks and Caicos Islands 13
29 28 British Virgin Islands 12
30 29 Bahamas 8
31 30 Aruba 7
32 32 US Virgin Islands 3
33 33 Anguilla 0
33 33 Dominican Republic 0
33 33 Montserrat 0

About me:

Christian, husband, father x 3, programmer, Romanian. Started the blog in March 2007. Quit in April 2018. You can find me on LinkedIn.

Friday, March 19, 2010

FIFA Ranking: March 2010 preview (III)

Point totals for teams from the top 20 of the October 2007 ranking should be 100% correct. For the others, there's the issue of historical rankings published before July 2006.

Since no changes will take place in top 80, this will most likely be the final preview.

Included: matches up to and including March 17th, 2010.

FIFA removed from the list of "A" matches Romania - Israel 0 - 2, Portugal - China 1 - 0, Algeria - Serbia 0 - 3, Angola - Latvia 1 - 1, Belgium - Croatia 0 - 1 and Macedonia - Montenegro 2 - 1 because team(s) made more than 6 substitutions.

Three matches left - all friendlies:

21/Mar Iceland - Faroe Islands
21/Mar Namibia - Botswana
24/Mar Mexico - Iceland

Here's how the totals can change for these five teams:

Mexico (W: 931, D: 921, L: 916)
Iceland (WW: 392, WD: 364, WL: 349, DW: 379, DD: 350, DL: 336, LW: 372, LD: 343, LL: 329)
Namibia (W: 270, D: 250, L: 240)
Botswana (W: 251, D: 235, L: 228)
Faroe Islands (W: 242, D: 211, L: 196)

In the ranking table, the value displayed for these teams is the minimum possible value. This means that even if they lose, their total can't drop.

Two countries will improve their best ever ranking:

Montenegro (69th - 71st in January 2010)
Comoros (174th - 175th in February 2010)

Portugal will return to their best ever ranking - 4th, first achieved in March 2001.

Three countries will return to their worst ever ranking:

Tunisia (56th, first achieved in March 2008)
Central African Republic (202nd, first achieved in July 2009)

Three countries will have their worst ever ranking:

Malta (158th - 154th in February 2009)
St. Lucia (192nd - 191st in July 2009)
British Virgin Islands (195th - 193rd in January 2008)

Spain kept their place at the top of the rankings by defeating France. A draw would have seen Brazil back in first place. However, Brazil will return to the top on April 28th due to devaluation of results.

Portugal were the biggest movers in the top 10, climbing 2 places.

Central African Republic joins the group of teams with 0 points.

Best movers:

22 - Senegal
15 - Libya and Guatemala
13 - Albania and Moldova

Worst movers:

-19 - Uzbekistan
-18 - Cape Verde Islands
-14 - Guam

Best movers in the top 50:

9 - Norway
6 - Paraguay and Turkey
5 - Algeria

Worst movers in the top 50:

-11 - Northern Ireland
-8 - Bulgaria
-5 - Switzerland, Czech Republic and Republic of Ireland

Iran up to 5th in AFC, overtaking Bahrain.

USA back on top in CONCACAF, with Mexico unable to keep their place even if they win against Iceland.

Ghana drop out of the African top 5, being replaced by Algeria.

Portugal - 3rd in Europe, replacing Italy.

March 2010 rank - Team - March 2010 points - +/- Ranking - +/- Points

1 Spain 1602 0 -40
2 Brazil 1589 0 -5
3 Netherlands 1261 0 -63
4 Portugal 1214 2 13
5 Italy 1183 -1 -43
6 Germany 1157 -1 -51
7 England 1120 1 11
8 France 1077 -1 -94
9 Argentina 1075 0 -12
10 Croatia 1051 1 1
11 Greece 1032 -1 -42
12 Russia 1009 0 -33
13 Chile 974 1 3
14 Egypt 966 3 -1
15 Serbia 950 -2 -30
16 USA 948 2 -6
17 Mexico 916 -2 -52
18 Uruguay 902 1 -34
19 Australia 898 4 31
20 Cameroon 887 0 -1
20 Switzerland 887 -5 -81
22 Nigeria 883 -1 4
23 Paraguay 855 6 40
24 Norway 853 9 55
25 Côte d'Ivoire 846 -3 -28
26 Ukraine 837 -2 -14
27 Algeria 820 5 17
28 Israel 811 -2 -10
29 Slovenia 810 -2 -9
30 Czech Republic 809 -5 -34
31 Ghana 802 -3 -16
32 Romania 798 4 24
33 Slovakia 791 -2 -19
34 Denmark 778 -1 -20
35 Turkey 770 6 31
36 Ecuador 765 1 4
36 Honduras 765 -1 -11
38 Bulgaria 764 -8 -48
39 Colombia 741 -1 -16
40 Sweden 739 2 2
41 Scotland 732 4 51
42 Costa Rica 717 2 16
43 Gabon 707 0 1
44 Republic of Ireland 704 -5 -44
45 Japan 692 1 20
46 Latvia 666 1 4
47 Bosnia-Herzegovina 642 2 -2
48 Venezuela 633 1 -11
49 Korea Republic 629 4 13
50 Northern Ireland 628 -11 -120
51 Bolivia 597 7 51
52 Burkina Faso 589 -1 -49
52 Hungary 589 -4 -56
54 Finland 588 -2 -47
55 Austria 582 1 15
56 Tunisia 574 -1 -13
57 Mali 573 -3 -22
58 Lithuania 570 2 42
59 Poland 562 0 22
60 Peru 537 1 27
61 Benin 531 4 28
62 Saudi Arabia 520 -5 -35
63 Iran 517 4 25
64 Canada 516 -2 8
65 FYR Macedonia 509 -1 3
66 Belgium 506 2 15
67 Bahrain 501 -4 -6
68 Morocco 488 2 6
69 Montenegro 484 2 28
70 Cyprus 470 -4 -25
71 Zambia 452 2 3
72 Senegal 444 22 97
73 Togo 438 -4 -45
74 El Salvador 437 -2 -15
74 Uganda 437 0 -10
76 Panama 430 2 28
77 Wales 416 -1 -4
78 Jamaica 412 -1 4
79 New Zealand 409 1 11
80 Belarus 404 -1 4
81 Iraq 394 6 21
81 Malawi 394 1 6
83 Albania 389 13 54
84 China PR 382 -1 -4
85 Guinea 381 4 14
86 Angola 380 0 1
87 Moldova 372 13 44
87 South Africa 372 -6 -19
89 Mozambique 371 -5 -11
90 Haiti 362 0 -2
91 Gambia 361 4 16
92 Trinidad and Tobago 350 -7 -30
93 Kuwait 348 -5 -20
94 Uzbekistan 345 -19 -97
95 Oman 344 -2 -7
96 Syria 343 5 17
97 Qatar 342 -5 -12
98 Congo 329 5 9
98 Iceland 329 -7 -26
100 Estonia 317 -3 -15
101 Libya 305 15 78
102 Jordan 297 4 27
102 United Arab Emirates 297 13 67
104 Thailand 294 -5 -35
105 Korea DPR 293 -3 -32
106 Armenia 292 -3 -28
107 Rwanda 269 -2 -13
108 Yemen 262 -1 -5
109 Tanzania 259 -1 -5
110 Azerbaijan 257 -1 6
111 Congo DR 253 1 5
112 Zimbabwe 248 5 25
113 Kenya 243 0 -1
114 Guatemala 241 15 67
115 Namibia 240 -4 -9
116 Cape Verde Islands 236 -18 -95
117 Georgia 232 7 32
118 Vietnam 231 -4 0
119 Botswana 228 0 10
120 Antigua and Barbuda 217 3 14
121 Sudan 210 -12 -41
122 Guyana 205 -2 0
123 Ethiopia 204 -1 0
124 Luxembourg 198 2 2
125 Cuba 196 -1 -4
125 Faroe Islands 196 -7 -26
127 Singapore 193 -7 -12
128 Grenada 188 5 26
129 Kazakhstan 177 -2 -13
130 Tajikistan 176 -2 0
131 Fiji 167 -1 0
132 India 164 0 0
132 Swaziland 164 2 3
134 Sierra Leone 162 1 3
134 Turkmenistan 162 -4 -5
136 Bermuda 159 0 3
137 Barbados 157 4 21
138 Indonesia 155 -1 0
139 Maldives 151 1 5
140 Hong Kong 150 2 16
141 Myanmar 147 -2 0
141 Suriname 147 2 14
143 Equatorial Guinea 145 -5 -6
144 Chad 128 0 -4
145 Burundi 127 2 4
146 New Caledonia 126 -1 0
147 Malaysia 123 -1 -1
148 Lesotho 116 0 -3
149 Lebanon 113 0 -5
149 St. Kitts and Nevis 113 2 1
151 Kyrgyzstan 112 10 17
151 Liechtenstein 112 0 0
153 Pakistan 111 3 4
154 Madagascar 110 3 5
155 Vanuatu 108 0 0
156 Liberia 106 4 8
157 Sri Lanka 103 -3 -8
158 Bangladesh 102 0 0
158 Malta 102 -8 -14
160 Nepal 101 -9 -11
160 Nicaragua 101 -1 0
162 Netherlands Antilles 98 4 8
163 Chinese Taipei 95 -1 2
163 Eritrea 95 1 3
165 Niger 92 -1 0
166 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 91 2 5
167 Philippines 86 2 1
168 Mauritania 81 -6 -12
169 Puerto Rico 76 -2 -13
170 Solomon Islands 60 1 0
171 Cambodia 56 1 0
172 Mongolia 48 -2 -13
173 Palestine 45 0 -3
174 Comoros 43 1 0
175 Seychelles 41 -1 -3
176 Mauritius 40 1 0
177 Cayman Islands 39 1 0
177 Laos 39 1 0
177 Somalia 39 1 0
180 Samoa 38 1 0
181 Macau 36 7 5
182 Bahamas 35 -7 -8
183 Belize 34 -1 0
183 Cook Islands 34 -1 0
185 Dominica 33 0 0
186 Turks and Caicos Islands 32 0 0
187 Tonga 28 2 0
188 Dominican Republic 26 2 0
189 Brunei Darussalam 25 2 0
190 Djibouti 23 3 0
191 Afghanistan 20 3 0
192 Guinea-Bissau 19 3 0
192 St. Lucia 19 -6 -13
192 Tahiti 19 3 0
195 British Virgin Islands 18 -4 -7
196 Bhutan 17 1 0
196 Guam 17 -14 -17
198 Aruba 11 0 0
199 US Virgin Islands 5 0 -3
200 Timor-Leste 4 0 0
201 Andorra 2 1 -1
202 American Samoa 0 1 0
202 Anguilla 0 1 0
202 Central African Republic 0 -2 -4
202 Montserrat 0 1 0
202 Papua New Guinea 0 1 0
202 San Marino 0 1 0

About me:

Christian, husband, father x 3, programmer, Romanian. Started the blog in March 2007. Quit in April 2018. You can find me on LinkedIn.