Lies, Damn Lies and FIFA Rankings

Once again FIFA have shown themselves up as the fools that they are – this time with their eternally inaccurate way of rating the world’s international football teams by way of their FIFA World Rankings.

Whatever the system they try to defend is: allowing for how far a national team has progressed in a tournament (over 5 years!); wins, draws and losses, be they friendlies or competitive, home or away. Whatever it is, it doesn’t work.

Here is the current top 10:

• 1 Brazil
• 2 Czech Republic
• 3 Netherlands
• 4 USA
• 5 Spain
• 6 Mexico
• 7 France
• 8= Argentina
• 8= Portugal
• 10 England

The top three are pretty obvious, and although it could be debated over, at least it is feasible, but for the USA to be 4th and Mexico 6th, you’ve have to be mad, or at least watching another unrealistic Hollywood movie. On this same list, Italy currently lie 14th, Sweden 16th and Germany 19th – even Poland (who are still going to the World Cup, in case anyone forgot) are placed inexplicably in 28th spot.

Okay it’s true, currently Italy are underperforming, as are Germany – but not that much. And as for Sweden, I’d far rather meet the States than the Swedes (as we will in the forthcoming World Cup). For the most part the rankings are pretty close, but it’s these anomalies that are so frustrating – especially for me here in the States, when some moron comes up to me at work and say that the USA sokar team are better than England’s based on these FIFA rankings. Better still are all the Mexican’s I know who think that Chiva’s and co. would walk all over any team in Europe, rather than battling mid-table in the Scottish Premier League!

One of the many things I hate about College (American) ‘Football’ is the way the teams are selected to play in the Rose Bowl (the grand final if you will). It’s not based on how many games they’ve won, or the goal difference, etc., but on what a bunch of journalist rate them as. Personally, I dead set against a bunch of journalists doing the same thing with footie, but as regards this broken FIFA ranking system, at least they could do a better job!

As for a more realistic top ten (let’s make it 15) here’s what’s more believable:

• 1 Brazil
• 2= Czech Republic
• 2= Netherlands
• 4 Spain
• 5= France
• 5= Argentina
• 7 England
• 8 Portugal
• 9 Italy
• 10 Sweden
• 11 Mexico
• 12 Germany
• 13= USA
• 13= Poland
• 15= Greece
• 15= Uruguay

Of course the World Cup in Germany is just over a month away, at that point we may have a better gage to work out how good these teams are. For my money can only foresee one of four winning it and those are the teams lying in 1st, 4th, 7th, and 12th!