Wednesday, December 15, 2010

FIFA world rankings...Les Bleus back in top 20, pop the champagne

Ah the comedy that is the FIFA world rankings, France scrap back into the top 20 - tied with the United States at #18! Thankfully Spain, the holders of the World Cup, remain top of the list. That at least gives some credibility for the rankings...I mean if the current World and European Cup holders are not the #1 team in the world, then these rankings are bunk. Oh wait they are bunk. What I find interesting is that Egypt, a nation that did not even make the World Cup remains the highest African nation on the list, ahead of Ghana who...went to the 1/4 finals of the World Cup! The top 20 -

1Spain Spain18870Equal-33
2Netherlands Netherlands17230Equal5
3Germany Germany14851Up-4
4Brazil Brazil1446-1Down-47
5Argentina Argentina13380Equal-15
6England England11950Equal-55
7Uruguay Uruguay11520Equal-22
8Portugal Portugal10900Equal-12
9Egypt Egypt10781Up31
10Croatia Croatia1075-1Down-23
11Greece Greece10160Equal-27
12Norway Norway9950Equal-9
13Russia Russia9820Equal-21
14Italy Italy9650Equal-30
15Chile Chile9501Up21
16Ghana Ghana9081Up5
17Slovenia Slovenia897-2Down-61
18USA USA8676Up20
18France France8673Up15
20Slovakia Slovakia854-2Down-12


I realize these rankings are really just some strange formula concocted by FIFA to artificially give nations and fans a sense of where their sides rank in the world. Much like college sports in the United States, there is no rhyme or reason to how they are determined, and unlike college football really do not matter. The winners of the World Cup or European Cup is determined on the pitch...plain and simple.

Good to see the World Cup hosts for 2022 have not yet cracked the top 100....sigh. That will be a great top seed for the World Cup....just saying.

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