Rankings change could impact on future campaigns

**A face** · 10/07/2006, 12:59 PM

Rankings change could impact on future campaigns

As Italy claimed the FIFA World Cup in Germany last night, FIFA are busying themselves for the release of a new look World ranking list. The new list will be published on Wednesday and will feature significant changes which could well impact on Ireland and their hopes of being seeded in the coming years.

Under the new system only results in the last four years will count. Therefore the next list for example will not feature Ireland's involvement in the 2002 World Cup finals, just two unsuccessful qualifying campaigns. Also being changed is the use of home advantage and goals scored in calculating the rankings. Both of these factors have been dropped completely from the algorithms while all other factors have been examined and in some cases modified.

Read more at www.irishfootballonline.com

**pineapple stu** · 10/07/2006, 1:03 PM

Won't impact on our seeding as long as the current formula (i.e. points per game over last two campaigns) is used.

But we're likely to drop a fair few places, I would have thought. Unless all those friendly wins against big countries do us some good!

**Forever Dreamin** · 11/07/2006, 9:26 AM

While we did not qualify for Germany our points total was one of the highest for non qualifiers. By excluding the euro 2004 its actually doing us a favour.

A good campaign for euro 2008 should see us go back up the seedings, however failure to qualify will see us stcuk at no 4.

On the basis they are only using the last 2 campaigns for seedings for wc2010:

We ended up with 17 points from 10 games so we have a co efficent of 1.7.

1st seeds seem to have a co effiecent about 2.1 so we need 29 points to get a no 1 seed and about 25 points to be a no 2 seed for the WC 2010 draw.

**RogerMilla** · 11/07/2006, 11:03 AM

we are going to have it very hard to qualify from this group , if we do however then the effect will roll on to our world cup seedings, it's vital big stan pulls a qualification spot out of the bag here. waiting anxiously on news of retirements in the czech camp....

**Paddy Garcia** · 11/07/2006, 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by RogerMilla

we are going to have it very hard to qualify from this group , if we do however then the effect will roll on to our world cup seedings, it's vital big stan pulls a qualification spot out of the bag here. waiting anxiously on news of retirements in the czech camp....

Poborsky quit

**CollegeTillIDie** · 11/07/2006, 11:55 PM

Originally Posted by Paddy Garcia

Poborsky quit

Well he is 36 and an outfield player!
Jan Koller is 33 as is Nedved .....

**Stuttgart88** · 12/07/2006, 9:47 AM

We're now ranked 39, one behind Honduras!

15 places behind Guinea who jump 27 places.

England up 5 places to 5, yet Spain drop 2 to 7.

**Dodge** · 12/07/2006, 10:08 AM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

We're now ranked 39, one behind Honduras!

Who reached the Semi finals of the Copa America...

**Stuttgart88** · 12/07/2006, 2:38 PM

Honduras no doubt!

Anyway here's football365's take on the new rankings:

FIFA have proudly unveiled their new World Rankings which reveal that Italy have climbed eleven places following their World Cup triumph, although Brazil still retain their interminable number one status.

Amid much fanfare, FIFA claim that their 'eagerly-awaited' post-World Cup rankings 'introduces major changes in points allocation and the assessment of the opposition's strength, but also makes such factors as the importance of the match and regional strength easier to understand.'

Despite the new criteria, the rankings do offer a few noteworthy anomalies, however.

They include:

* England's points rating climbing despite their dismal WC performances.

* Sweden slipping six places to 22nd. Paraguay, whom the Swedes knocked out en route to the group stages, duly move in the opposite direction, climbing fourteen places to 19th.

* Serbia and Montenegro rising eight places despite losing all three of their matches and returning home with a minus-eight goal difference.

* Saudi Arabia being demoted a whopping 47 places to 82nd in the world. Tunisia, with whom the Saudis drew at the World Cup, and whose final goal difference was superior by just one score, fall just eight places to 31st. Clearly, it was a significant goal.

* Portugal falling to eighth in the rankings despite beating England on the way to the WC semi-finals.

* Mexico falling fourteen places as punishment for the unforgivebale crime of being beaten in extra-time by third-ranked Argentina in the WC's best game.

* WC-absentees Uruguay climbing eight places to a lofty 14th and being ranked above Mexico.

* Guinea, a country which F365 wasn’t entirely aware played football, being ranked 24th in the world. Greece, reigning champions of a continent which produced six of the quarter-finalists and all four of the semi-finalists, are a distant 32nd.

* South Korea being demoted 27 places. Togo, who lost all three of their matches, including a defeat to the Koreans, rise fourteen places to be ranked ahead of the Koreans.