FIFA World Rankings
1. Spain – 1507 points
2. Germany – 1318 points
3. Argentina – 1251 points
4. Colombia – 1200 points
5.Portugal – 1172 points
6. Uruguay – 1132 points
7. Italy – 1120 points
8. Switzerland – 1113 points
9. Netherlands – 1106 points
10. Brazil – 1102 points
The FIFA rankings have changed to suit both the appetites of Portugal and their colonial brothers, Brazil, as they both made it back into the top ten. This system favours teams that win their World Cup qualifiers on a point system, as opposed to those that play friendly games, which explains Brazil’s notable absence in the last year.
Portugal’s two victories over Sweden in the European play-offs have also given them a well-deserved fifth spot, while Belgium and England both moved out of the top ten spot after losing two friendly matches during the qualifiers.
Cameroon (51st position, up 8 spots), Korea Republic (54th, up 2) and Australia (59th, down 2) all made significant moves in the rankings. These three teams are marking their return to the World Cup after qualifying this year. Well done!
The FIFA/Coca Cola are not relative to a team’s performance at a tournament. So if you’re banking on any of these teams to win the World Cup, it is wiser to wait until the rankings are updated closer to the time. Also, teams may choose only to perform ‘at their peak’ in Brazil, as opposed to the World Cup qualifiers.
