World Ranking

[geysir]

So... Slovakia, Iceland, FATDAD, Liechtenstein and San Marino... That would be amazing. Truly amazing.

You can enjoy indulging in your fantasies, meanwhile I can enjoy the reality of the prediction (while it lasts) that Iceland are to be a hair's breadth from pot 1, ahead of such luminaries as Spain, France and Netherlands.

[Charlie Darwin]

Drawing Iceland wouldn't be worth having to listen to geysir pontificate even more loudly about the superior total football of Iceland for two years or more.

[paul_oshea]

Ah I enjoy geysir pontificating, gives him something to feel good and right about, especially on those long lonely Iclelandic nights, from his cold dark and dank room.

[DannyInvincible]

Start a new body.

You start it and we will join.

[ArdeeBhoy]

You're my Legal Director then.

Even GR makes more sense than Bl*tter FFS...

[BonnieShels]

Drawing Iceland wouldn't be worth having to listen to geysir pontificate even more loudly about the superior total football of Iceland for two years or more.

I dunno I would like to see his loyalties split.

[geysir]

Split loyalties? I'd just go with the winner.
I have at all time endevoured (sometimes failing) to express myself with modesty and humility and would never ever want
to rub it in, even when all that was stated for ever and a day, has come to pass and has emerged as undeniable truths.
It does trouble me, though with a greatly diminishing effect, to read and hear of the 7 years of plagues with Kerr and Stan, 7 years of the pestilence of hoofball with Trap and now, 7 years of darkness.

[BonnieShels]

And then the 7 years of light. Natural progression.

[DannyInvincible]

The latest update sees us remain in 61st: http://thescore.thejournal.ie/irelan...02509-Nov2014/

[davidatrb]

Not really about Ireland. But Netherlands got a bit of a boost with the announcement of the release dates for next year.

Basically FIFA are probably going to base the pots on the July Ranking. The release date for this is 9th, so Netherlands and Germany will have the advantage that some of their World Cup matches (which are weighted at 4 times points) will count 100%. Everyone elses World Cup matches ranking points will only count at 50% because they happened before 9th July 2014.

http://fog2014.blogspot.ie/2014/12/f...therlands.html

http://www.football-rankings.info/20...-postpone.html

[DannyInvincible]

Down to 65th, as of today's update: http://www.goal.com/en-ie/news/3942/...n-fifa-ranking

The Boys in Green have continued their decline in the first update of 2015, while Northern Ireland have gone up one place

Republic of Ireland have dropped one place to 65th in the latest Fifa ranking table, which was updated on January 8.

The update sees the Boys in Green continue their slide down the ranking, having dropped three places in December.

Martin O'Neill's team are now ranked behind Gabon, who have risen three places, as well as Togo and Burkina Faso. They sit just ahead of European counterparts Bulgaria and Norway.

Northern Ireland, meanwhile, have risen one position in the table to 47th, having dropped one place last month, and sit above Turkey.

The top 45 places remain unchanged, with Ireland's Euro 2016 qualifying rivals Germany still ranked first, ahead of Argentina, who are second, and Colombia, who are third.

Scotland, who defeated O'Neill's men at Celtic Park in November, remain in place at 36th, while Poland are unchanged at 41st.

The next update to the ranking table will be announced on February 12.

[Fixer82]

Gabon out of that. Time for MonKeano Togo.

i'll get my coat....

[nigel-harps1954]

Down to 67th today.

http://balls.ie/football/231234-new-...g-for-ireland/

[BonnieShels]

Be grand.

[DannyInvincible]

Emmet Malone fears this will see us in the fourth pot for the World Cup 2018 qualifying draw: http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/socc...ings-1.2102137

Ireland are now 67th, dangerously close to their lowest-ever ranking of 70th, which they hit last July. More worrying is the fact that Ireland are 33rd in Europe and unless Fifa spring a major surprise between now and the summer by changing the way the seedings for the World Cup qualifiers are laid out, that means James McCarthy and co will almost certainly be in Pot Four when their route to Russia is laid out at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St Petersburg on July 25th.

The qualifying system has yet to be formally decided but with the same number of nations (13) to qualify out of Europe, there is no particular reason to believe Fifa will see fit to move away from the structure employed in 2010 and 2014, when nine group winners progressed along with four from play-offs.

Assuming they stick with the system and with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts, Ireland lie five places off 28th, the minimum European ranking that they would have to achieve in order to make it into the third tier of seeds.

[Stuttgart88]

It'll still all depend on the draw. Some countries are untouchable, others are elevated due to historic results they can't achieve today, others are better today than their rankings suggest and others are just right. If Ibrahimovic retires next year are Sweden still a solid second seeded team?

I've always felt that if you take away Europe's top 8 or 10 teams on any given day a result can go either way - except Ireland whose media tells us we're a bunch of second rate English Premier League non-entities who are second favourites even if we're playing a team drawn from lesser leagues anywhere.

We're clearly not a firm second seeded team, but there isn't much between some 3rd and some 5th seeded teams.

[Gather round]

Some countries are untouchable, others are elevated due to historic results they can't achieve today, others are better today than their rankings suggest and others are just right

Are you sure about 'historic results'? In FIFA's ranking system, qualifiers from September 2012 are weighted at only 30% (contrast 100% in UEFA's).

[DeLorean]

Get in there!!

[CraftyToePoke]

Get in there!!

Less is more, less is more

[davidatrb]

Emmet Malone fears this will see us in the fourth pot for the World Cup 2018 qualifying draw: http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/socc...ings-1.2102137

In July I figure Ireland will have something between 480 and 847 points (depending on our next 3 home games Poland, England and Scotland) which on current rankings would leave us placed between 18th (Pot 2) and 36th (Pot 4) UEFA team.