World Ranking

**BonnieShels** · 18/10/2014, 9:45 PM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Good job the FAI had the foresight to instruct UEFA to sort the fixtures centrally.

That's why John earns the big bucks that he does.

**ArdeeBhoy** · 19/10/2014, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by Kingdom

Does anyone here feel the FAI are aware of these permutations - or would they even care?

Think they would probably lean towards the latter...

**davidatrb** · 20/10/2014, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

So, should O'Neill and the FAI not have sought out easier friendlies? It's all well and good picking hard opposition to assess and improve your team but really we should have chosen teams we can beat, or even not play some games at all?

If we bring on an extra few subs (I think that 6 is the magic number) then the friendly becomes unofficial and it won't count towards ranking. It seems a bit devious but our friend Eduard often recommends this. He seems to run the football-ranking.info website and is now apparently being paid by some national team to consult on improving their FIFA ranking.

For Ireland I'm not too pushed. There is nobody that is likely to be in Pot 3, 4 or 5 that scares me - so I don't think O'Neil will be overly concerned which Pot we are in. It would be nice to climb into Pot 2 though but its not going to happen. I think that there will be a couple of teams that will be in Pot 2 that will be very important to avoid (Netherlands, Portugal maybe).

**davidatrb** · 20/10/2014, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by BonnieShels

Also is this the first time we have been ranked below England, Wales, the IFA team and Scotland at the same time?

N. Ireland seem to have been bottom ranked British Isles team since Oct 2011 Release. Before that it was Wales. And switched between Wales and N. Ireland quite a bit. Ireland have never been worst ranked. We were top ranked, even ahead of England more often than not between 1993 and 1995 but FIFA used a different system back then. Since 1995 England have always been ranked top from our corner of the globe.

From what I can see.

**Gather round** · 20/10/2014, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by davidatrb

N. Ireland seem to have been bottom ranked British Isles team since Oct 2011 Release. Before that it was Wales. And switched between Wales and N. Ireland quite a bit

We outpointed Wales in actual qualifying for 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Here are some recent actual and future possible ranking points (to be) gained.

Chile bt Spain- 2400 (100%)

NI bt Greece- 58% (maximum for qualifier = 62%)

NI bt Hungary- 51%

IE bt Georgia- 32%

IE dr Germany- 21%

NI bt Faroes- 15%

NI dr Cyprus- 3% (minimum for drawn friendly = 2%)

IE bt Gibraltar 0% (Gib aren't a FIFA member thus no ranking)

...

IE to bt Scotland 50%

NI to dr Romania 18%

**Kingdom** · 20/10/2014, 1:58 PM

Gather round, what is the 50% of actually, were ROI to beat Scotland. It's hardly a 50% increase of our current points is it?

**osarusan** · 20/10/2014, 1:59 PM

50% of 2400 points?

**Kingdom** · 20/10/2014, 2:18 PM

I took a quick glance at the UEFA Nations Cup. Now obviously it isn't remotely near, but if it was being run now, we could be in a group Norway, Lithuania and Moldova, to make the last 4 for a spot in Euro 2020, provided we hadn't qualified conventionally. Not bad.

**Gather round** · 20/10/2014, 2:21 PM

Originally Posted by Kingdom

Gather round, what is the 50% of actually, were ROI to beat Scotland. It's hardly a 50% increase of our current points is it?

It's 50% of the best possible result for a single game (ie the 2,400* Chile or Netherlands got for beating then World Ranked #1 Spain during the World Cup). Qualifiers are weighted at 62.5% of WC finals games, friendlies at 25% and Euro finals games at 75%. Games more than a year ago depreciate by 50%, two years 70% and three years 80%. Any older than that isn't counted in the rolling average.

* 3 (points for a win) x 4 (in the World Cup Finals) x 200 (against the highest ranked team) = 2,400

By beating the Scots, you'd get

3 x 2.5 x 163 x 0.99 (as Europe overall is now ranked slightly worse than South America) = 1,210 (ie about 50% of 2,400)

**bennocelt** · 20/10/2014, 2:22 PM

Originally Posted by davidatrb

N. Ireland seem to have been bottom ranked British Isles team since Oct 2011 Release. Before that it was Wales. And switched between Wales and N. Ireland quite a bit. Ireland have never been worst ranked. We were top ranked, even ahead of England more often than not between 1993 and 1995 but FIFA used a different system back then. Since 1995 England have always been ranked top from our corner of the globe.

From what I can see.

You mean Ireland and Britain

**Kingdom** · 20/10/2014, 2:40 PM

Many thanks Gather Round. I know it's far from simple, but it would be far to say that if we were to beat Scotland away and Poland at home and remain unbeaten in the two friendlies then Ireland would take a huge leap.

**BonnieShels** · 20/10/2014, 6:35 PM

Originally Posted by davidatrb

N. Ireland seem to have been bottom ranked British Isles team since Oct 2011 Release. Before that it was Wales. And switched between Wales and N. Ireland quite a bit. Ireland have never been worst ranked. We were top ranked, even ahead of England more often than not between 1993 and 1995 but FIFA used a different system back then. Since 1995 England have always been ranked top from our corner of the globe.

From what I can see.

So this is the first time we are ranked lowest ever!

Eugh. O'Neill out.

**geysir** · 20/10/2014, 9:12 PM

Originally Posted by Kingdom

Many thanks Gather Round. I know it's far from simple, but it would be far to say that if we were to beat Scotland away and Poland at home and remain unbeaten in the two friendlies then Ireland would take a huge leap.

And we only have to beat them 1 nil, with a lucky goal or an unrepeatable bit of skill from an unlikely suspect, in order to garner maximum available ranking points and jump up to the lower regions of the 2nd pot level.

**osarusan** · 21/10/2014, 4:29 AM

Originally Posted by Gather round

* 3 (points for a win) x 4 (in the World Cup Finals) x 200 (against the highest ranked team) = 2,400

By beating the Scots, you'd get

3 x 2.5 x 163 x 0.99 (as Europe overall is now ranked slightly worse than South America) = 1,210 (ie about 50% of 2,400)

How is the 163 calculated? Is it a countdown from 200, which is for a win against the #1 ranked team in the world?

Is it 163 points for any team that beats them?

Or does it depend on the seedings - 163 if Ireland beat them, but fewer points if Germany beat them, because Germany are the top seeds?

**paul_oshea** · 21/10/2014, 7:55 AM

Originally Posted by geysir

And we only have to beat them 1 nil, with a lucky goal or an unrepeatable bit of skill from an unlikely suspect, in order to garner maximum available ranking points and jump up to the lower regions of the 2nd pot level.

We will need a bit of luck for that to happen ; )

**Gather round** · 21/10/2014, 8:14 AM

Originally Posted by osarusan

How is the 163 calculated? Is it a countdown from 200, which is for a win against the #1 ranked team in the world?

Is it 163 points for any team that beats them?

Or does it depend on the seedings - 163 if Ireland beat them, but fewer points if Germany beat them, because Germany are the top seeds?

Yes, it's a countdown from 200 (World Ranking #1) to 50 (WR #150 or below). Anyone playing Scotland next month gets a multiplier of 163, anyone playing you about 140 (assuming your ranking is #60). Seedings are irrelevant to the calculations.

**ArdeeBhoy** · 21/10/2014, 11:30 AM

Isn't that relatively obvious? I mean if GR can grasp it...
Plus he normally has a fixation elsewhere on slating the UEFA/FIFA rankings as being too obscure. He has a point but they're hardly likely to take notice...