We're 31st in the world now according to the latest rankings
http://www.fifa.com/en/mens/statisti...ticleid=135896
We're ahead of Slovakia but behind powerhouses of Ecuador and the U.S.
Back ahead of Northern Ireland too.
We're 31st in the world now according to the latest rankings
http://www.fifa.com/en/mens/statisti...ticleid=135896
We're ahead of Slovakia but behind powerhouses of Ecuador and the U.S.
Back ahead of Northern Ireland too.
in fairness the US should be ahead of us with the population they've got , the superior quality of facilites and at least equal qulaity of coaching etc etc
Was he crazy!! Yeah , in a very special way , an Irishman.
I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty;
I woke, and found that life was Duty.
Indeed, their results were respectable - victories over Poland and Costa Rica and defeats by England and Germany.
That said, their high ranking can be accounted for by another factor (aside from the fact that S.America is arguably weighted higher vis a vis Europe than it should be).
Ecuador's home record is formidable. In the last World Cup Qualifying campaign (a drawn-out affair in S.America), their home results were as follows:
Venezuela: 2-0
Peru: 0-0
Columbia: 2-1
Bolivia: 3-2
Chile: 2-0
Brazil: 1-0
Paraguay: 5-2
Argentina: 2-0
Uruguay: 0-0
Of course, it may just be coincidence that at 9,300 ft. (2,850m.), Quito is the second highest Capital city in the world! (The highest is La Paz in neighbouring Bolivia, at 11,800 ft. = 3,600m, where Ecuador won their away game 2-1!)
Anyhow, congratulations to the ROI for their recent recovery in the rankings.
A win in NI's next game in August (home to Liechtenstein) should narrow the points gap a little, ready for September, when ROI are away to Slovakia/Czechs and we're away to Latvia/Iceland.
And whilst it doesn't count for anything in the scheme of things, it's still a bit of fun (at least when the team you support is still climbing! )
Last edited by EalingGreen; 18/04/2007 at 11:26 AM.
And a 3-0 win against the might of San Marino moves us up to the lofty position of...............74th.
Bet you're really jealous eh?
in fairness its our place in the seedings that are most important
Was he crazy!! Yeah , in a very special way , an Irishman.
I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty;
I woke, and found that life was Duty.
more respectable. Scotland and England do not deserve such lofty positions and are sure to keep tumbling.
"If God had meant football to be played in the air, he'd have put grass in the sky." Brian Clough.
You'll NEVER beat the Irish.......you'll just draw with us instead!!!
it merely demonstrates what a joke the rankings are. 2 wins against average opposition at home and we leap 20 places!
Soccer is such a minor sport here though. Our best athletes are in American Football, Basketball, Baseball, our 3 major sports. Then you have Hockey and the Olympic sports (track, swimming, skating, etc).
Soccer is below those, really a niche thing, to the extent where when I share that I am a soccer fan people look at me like I've got something wrong with me (which may be true is completely irrelevant to my being a soccer fan). When I find another soccer fan to talk to over here, it is like a little cult is formed.
We may have a population 100x Ireland, but it's far down the rung of activities our best athletes are interested in. Our best athletes have the opportunity to make $100 million contracts here in the USA in American Football, Basketball and Baseball. In Ireland you are competing with Gaelic Football and Hurling, but I'm not sure if the monetary incentive is the same detterent against soccer. I would expect a great athlete could make a lot more money in the English leagues just across the water as a soccer player than he could domestically as a Gaelic footballer or Hurler, correct?
I think based on the interest level, we're (the USA) ranked at about the right place. I'm surprised we've been ranked higher. Our population is only one factor.
PS - Having watched the two recent matches of both USA (on ESPN2) and Ireland (via Setanta delayed broadcasts), USA has looked the better team, mainly because Landon Donovan has been on fire. I'd love to see a friendly between the two though.
Last edited by Kivlehan; 18/04/2007 at 2:57 PM. Reason: spelling
In fairness we jumped to 31st which is still mediocre territory. I'll give the new ranking system a chance. It looks pretty accurate to me.
Here's how the system works:
http://football.guardian.co.uk/comme...871529,00.html
And here's Europe's top 20 teams from the rankings:
1 Italy
2 Germany
3 Netherlands
4 Portugal
5 England
6 Spain
7 Czech Republic
8 Ukraine
9 Croatia
10 Romania
11 Greece
12 Russia
13 Turkey
14 Scotland
15 Switzerland
16 Poland
17 Denmark
18 Sweden
19 Republic of Ireland
20 Serbia
One thing that sticks out to me is Sweden are 4th in the UEFA Seedings for the next WC but the 18th highest European team in the FIFA rankings.
Last edited by eirebhoy; 18/04/2007 at 3:04 PM.
hate to break it to ya but uruguay arnt from europe
The seedings are worked out from competitive games (World and Euros) from the current and last series only. Sweden's record in those games is very good.
Whereas, the FIFA rankings cover four years and include friendlies.
I'm not sure about this, but I have a feeling Sweden play a number of friendlies "out of season" i.e. featuring their domestic (Summer) players, where the teams selected are weaker (hence less successful?) than the teams they pick for competitive matches, where they include their stars who play outside of Sweden.
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