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Post-World Cup FIFA Rankings Start A Major Shuffling

By on July 19, 2014

FIFA’s World Rankings might be criticized for their accuracy , but following World Cup 2014 they have nailed a major theme throughout the tournament – a transition. Just last month, the rankings calculated Spain were the best nation in the world; a position they had been in control of for the majority of the past five years. That was mainly off the back of their 2010 World Cup victory, in which they only failed to win a single match out of seven against the likes of Portugal, Germany, and the Netherlands. This year, in a heartbreakingly short campaign, the Spanish won just once. Which is why the Spanish have dropped a full seven positions off their top spot from what was believed to be a relatively unassailable lead.

That has been the theme of the post-World Cup rankings. The third placed Netherlands leapfrogged twelve entire positions into third behind just the two finalists of the tournament, Argentina and Germany, who themselves hopped up three and a single point, respectively. The next generation of Colombia moved the country into the top five, and while a youthful Belgium had a relatively underperformed in Brazil, landed themselves a spot in fifth from their previous eleventh position nonetheless. Certainly, come 2018, in what should be the peak of the Belgian’s “golden generation”s powers, that spot will be deserved.

From France’s furthest low in a while after folding out their dreadful aging World Cup 2010 squad, the new rejuvenated French moved back up into the top ten, likewise as Chile found themselves into twelfth after their impressive defeat of Spain and narrow Second Round exit. The US were equally, and perhaps more impressive by advancing from the Group of Death past Portugal and Ghana, yet FIFA failed to capture their brilliance, moving them down two positions. However, that was only to let the likes of the Dutch and Costa Rica, who fully deserved to move up an entire dozen places after their demolitions of Uruguay, Italy, and Greece, leading them all the way to a Quarterfinal finish, through.

On a slightly less enthusiastic note, however, the rankings also paint the picture of those who failed to impress. Both Euro 2012 finalists, Spain and Italy saw group stages exits – leaving Italy knocked out of the top ten into fourteenth. Meanwhile, England might have boatloads of youngsters just breaking onto the scene, but their group stage exit at the bottom of their group told just the extent of their current lack of stars in their prime. The Three Lions are now all the way down into twentieth. Russia also paid for their disappointing group stage exits, moving down down out of the top twenty, but should have consider themselves lucky to only drop by four positions, only two more than the very impressive Algerian side which took the eventual winners Germany into extra-time. The FIFA World Rankings might not get the little things right, but paints the big picture perfectly.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.