Fifa World Rankings: top 10 1 Spain (May's position: 1st) 2 Holland (2nd) 3 Germany (4th) 4 England (6th) 5 Brazil (3rd) 6 Italy (9th) 7 Portugal (8th) 8 Croatia (10th) 9 Mexico (28th) 10 Argentina (5th) And Taraabt is the worlds No 1 player.
The rankings weight comptitive matches in the Euro qualifiers at 2.5 time friendlies. Brazil and Argentina have played no competitive matches since the world cup so they've dropped. England has stayed about the same (hardly surprising as they've got average-ish results in their qualifying group). Hence they go above Brazil and Argentina. Doesn't seem an unreasonable process but I doubt it is giving the right rankings currently. England's current ranking seems to be their highest ever, but we are generally around tenth which seems to be reasonably consistent with our actual performance in world cups.
Frankly, at the moment, there's Spain....and then there's the rest. Have to say, I can't see England staying in that spot for long. Not unless there's been a steep and rapid decline in the standards of the rest of world fooball.
Strange how all the (not remotely spiteful) articles about FIFA being corrupt stopped as soon as their rankings developed a glitch that says ENgland are better than all but four of the world's footballing nations...
I think most of the articles about FIFA being corrupt, stopped, not because of some anomaly that puts England in a far higher spot than they should be. I think most intelligent people got fed up with stating the blindingly bleedin obvious. It's a bit like stating that grass is green, it just is, and that's the way it'll stay.
I'd say it was because intelligent people were sick of having their intelligence insulted - starting with the idea that a terrible bid for the World Cup wasn't accepted because the Russians bribed FIFA instead of having a far better bid, then the talk that a couple of corrupt delegates mean the whole orginisation "must" be corrupt, and plenty of throwing toys out of the pram by the FA, tabloids and Government alike.
Sounds reasonable when they put it like that, doesn't it? Brazil and Argentina should drop down to about 30th anyway, as they basically don't have to qualify for anything. Finish in the top 5 of a 10 team group that contains Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile and Columbia? Give it a rest.
I think that was not the main reason. The main reasons were, IMO, Firstly - we got two votes, which would smack of revenge to anybody. For me, the real clincher, at the time was the awarding of the 2022 WC to Qatar. What a joke! The perfect place for the world's premier football tournament - a giant sand pit with an indigenous population of a few thousand, and summer temperatures in excess of 50c! Apart from that, there's hardly a shortage of other evidence to suggest that the whole organization is rotten to the core. Ensil. Yes, of course grass may turn brown. However, that is only from maltreatment, and it's hardly more attractive than green grass, anyway.
England got two votes as their bid was a joke - "We invented football, gimme gimme gimme" is the sole purpose of the bid, and given how Euro '96 saw vast swathes of empty seats and police raids on the FA HQ after several ticketing scams were uncovered, whilst talk that the 2012 Olympics would cost £2.9bn being 1/3 of what has been spent so far, it's not a surprise FIFA delegates thoguht every other bid was better. Besides, if the best the FA could come up with to solicit votes was promises of friendly matches (oh, and trying to bribe delegates with invites to the Royal Wedding, or sending expensive handbags to their wives) rather than actually delegate with them, no wonder it failed as spectacularly as it did. As for Qatar, the comments of "Oh, but they've never qualified for a World Cup" are meaningless, as Japan hadn't done so either when they were awarded with the rights to co-host the 2002 tournament. In that case, the competing bids from Japan and South Korea cancelled each other out, the USA staged a shoddy World Cup in 1994 followed by a shoddier Olympics in 1996, but I'm surprised Australia failed so badly. Then again, I'm surprised nobody considered accusing Qatar of bribing officials until Lord Triesmann pointed the finger at everyone who didn't say referees were being bribed to win SPain the World Cup...
Ah Mr Blatter we have been expecting you. No mention of the tournament that people might die in because it is so hot and gay fans risk imprisonment if they want to watch I see.
There is very little point in my arguing further against such distorted logic. I had not intended to start a debate on the merits, or otherwise, of England's bid. The plain and simple fact, which seems blindingly obvious to everybody, but you, is that FIFA is a thoroughly corrupt and totally discredited organisation, which is a disgrace to the global game.
Hang on, I didn't make sure that I was looking at the latest rankings. Sorry. Qatar are 94th, 20 places higher than 114th placed Wales. Actually, that's joint 114th place... with the Faroe Isles!
Kim Jong-il must be livid that his team are below Wales and the Faroes! As for "Qatar are crap", they're ranked ahead of recent WC qualifiers such as New Zealand, Angola, and Togo - as well as Scotland's perpetual banana skin Macedonia. Also, the Cayman Islands have a football team? Whose their coach, Bono?
