FIFA World Ranking
The FIFA World Ranking (official name FIFA / Coca-Cola World Ranking ) is a world ranking for football - teams that by the World Association FIFA is run. It was published for the first time in August 1993 for men's national teams and in 2003 for the first time for women and is intended to make it possible to determine and compare the strength of internationally active teams at regular intervals. It is often used - sometimes alongside other criteria - to divide teams into lottery pots.
So far, eight teams have made it to the top spot in the men's category, but only two women's teams. Between 1993 and 1998 the world rankings for men were not very differentiated, so that two to four countries had the same number of points several times. The world number one had 57 to 73 points during this period. The world ranking of women has been calculated according to a variant of the Elo system since its introduction. The men's ranking was initially created using an average calculation of game ratings. At the beginning of 1999 the calculation basis was changed for the first time, between 1999 and 2006 the world number one had 796 to 859 points. After the 2006 World Cup, another change took place, so that the values for the world number one have been between 1419 and 1920 points since then. In 2018 there was a move away from calculating averages, and since then the men's ranking has also been based on a variant of the Elo system.
From December 19, 2014 to July 9, 2015, Germany's women's and men's teams from the same country took first place simultaneously for the first time.
On September 20, 2018, FIFA placed two teams - Belgium and France - in first place for the first time, although the points between the two teams differ by 0.13. In 1994, at the beginning of the FIFA world rankings, there were already several teams with identical scores in the first places, but not all of them were placed first by FIFA.
Ranking of men
The following table shows the top twenty teams currently ranked in the world. It also contains the best of the six continental associations ( bold ), all former leaders in the world rankings (italics) , the current and all former world champions ( * ), with the number of stars corresponding to the number of World Cup titles won, and all German-speaking countries and the teams in the bottom of the ranking.
(As of July 16, 2020, next publication on September 17, 2020.) |
|
Calculation method
On June 10, 2018, FIFA announced that, following the 2018 World Cup, the calculation of the world rankings would be fundamentally revised. This is to dispel some of the criticisms of the old calculation. The new method ( called SUM by FIFA ) is based on the concept of the Elo number and has been used since the 2018 World Cup. The first publication according to SUM took place on August 16, 2018, as no ranking list was published in July 2018. During the conversion, the leader in the June evaluation (Germany) received 1600 points as the starting value P old for the new calculation and 4 points were deducted for each subsequent place.
The score after a game is calculated as follows:
It stands
- for the pre-game score. Initially, the rating number is used here according to the old calculation method.
- for weighting the game:
weighting | Type of game |
---|---|
5 | Friendly matches outside the international window in the game calendar |
10 | Friendly matches during the international window in the game calendar |
15th | Group games in Nations League competitions |
25th | Knockout games in Nations League competitions and qualifying games for continental championships and for the World Cup |
35 | Play continental championships up to the quarterfinals |
40 | all games of the Confederation Cup and continental championships from the quarter-finals |
50 | World Cup finals up to and including the round of 16 |
60 | World Cup finals from quarterfinals |
-
is the result of the game
- 1 = Victory after regular playing time or after extra time
- 0.75 = win on penalties
- 0.5 = draw or defeat on penalties
- 0 = defeat after regular playing time or after extra time
- is the expected result based on both teams A and B's scores before the game:
The new calculation method therefore no longer weights games with the opponent's confederation; In return, the game's competition is weighted more differently.
- example
- Preliminary round game at the World Cup
Russia | Saudi Arabia | ||
---|---|---|---|
Game date | June 14, 2018 | ||
result | 5 | 0 | |
Status of the game | 50 (World Cup finals up to and including the round of 16) | ||
Score before the game | 1336 | 1348 | |
Expected result | 0.4884891088 | ||
Game result | 1 | 0 | |
Score change | 25.5755 | -24.4244 | |
new score | 1361.58 | 1323.58 |
Men's records (old calculation up to June 2018)
- The highest value achieved so far with which a team was led in the ranking was 1920 points. The Spanish national team achieved this value on November 17th, 2010.
- The maximum number of 2400 points for a game was achieved by the Netherlands on June 13th and Chile on June 18, 2014 (both teams won the World Cup finals against Spain, who was number one in the world at the time, in regular time).
- Brazil was in first place for the longest uninterrupted period: from April 9, 1997 to May 16, 2001, that is 1498 days. Overall, from July 21, 1994 to May 16, 2001, Brazil was in first place for 2491 days without interruption, but had to share it with Germany from February 27 to April 9, 1997.
- 32nd place in April 2017 for the Netherlands is the worst placement of a former world number one (only placements taken into account after the team was in 1st place).
- 71st place in June 2007 for Belgium is the worst placement of a subsequent world number one.
Old calculation method (2006 to 2018)
Since 2006 only official games of the senior national teams of the last 48 months have been taken into account in order to better reflect the current level of play than in the previous procedure. For each of these games, a score is calculated for both teams . A team's leaderboard score is then calculated as a weighted average of the scores of their games. The ranking is updated regularly once a month; however, during a World Cup finals, the update usually does not take place in June.
The score for a game is calculated using the following formula:
Where:
-
(for English match ) the result of the game:
- 3 for a win in regular time or after extra time.
- 2 for a win on penalties.
- 1 for a draw or loss on penalties.
- 0 for a loss in regular time or after overtime. Except in the penalty shootout, defeat always leads to .
-
(for English importance ) the importance of the game:
- 4.0 for games in a World Cup final (group stage and final round).
- 3.0 for matches in continental finals (e.g. European Championship ) or the FIFA Confederations Cup .
- 2.5 for qualifying matches for the World Cup or a continental championship.
- 1.0 for friendly matches.
-
(for English team ) the strength of the opponent, which is calculated from his position in the ranking before the start of the game:
- 200 for the world number one as an opponent,
- 50 for opponents under position 150 in the world rankings,
- [200 - opponent's world ranking position] for everyone else.
- (for English confederation ) the mean value of the strengths of the continental associations of the two teams, which result from the last three World Cup finals and are therefore recalculated every four years after a World Cup. Only World Cup matches between teams from different confederations are taken into account and the minimum size is 0.85. The following values have been in effect since the 2014 World Cup:
The scores calculated in this way for all games of a national team are now calculated as the average over a 12-month period, because the results are devalued after twelve months and expire completely after four years. For devaluation, the point average is multiplied by the following weighting factors:
- 1.0 for results for the past 12 months
- 0.5 for results that are 12 to 24 months old
- 0.3 for results that are 24 to 36 months old
- 0.2 for results 36 to 48 months old
- Results older than 48 months are no longer taken into account.
The addition of the four annual means weighted in this way results in the number of points in the ranking list. If an association has not played at least five international matches in all 12-month periods, zero points are used for the missing games, i.e. that is, they are de facto counted as lost games. If z. If, for example, an association has only played three games in the past twelve months, the total of points from these three games is divided by five (and not by three) to calculate the mean.
The maximum score for a single game is 3 × 4 × 200 × 1 = 2400. This number of points can be achieved by beating the world number one in a world championship final, provided both teams come from associations that are rated with a factor of 1.00 (currently only CONMEBOL). The last time the Netherlands and Chile achieved this was on June 13 and 18, 2014, when they beat Spain in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup . In the 2014 World Cup, Germany defeated 3rd, 4th and 5th in the world rankings and thus came close to the maximum number of points several times: The victories against Brazil, Portugal and Argentina (semi-finals, group stage, final) brought 3 × 4 × 197 × 1 = 2364 Points, 3 × 4 × 196 × 1 = 2352 points and 3 × 4 × 195 × 1 = 2340 points.
The minimum number of points for a tie is 1 × 1 × 50 × 0.85 = 42.5. This number of points is given to a team from the associations with a factor of 0.85 (currently AFC, CAF, OFC and CONCACAF) that draws in a friendly match against another team from these associations if the opposing team is 150th or lower in the ranking.
- example
- Draw with decision on penalties at WM
Paraguay | Japan | |
---|---|---|
Game date | June 29, 2010 | |
Status of the game | World Championship finals | |
Result n. E. | 5 | 3 |
Ranking position | 31 | 45 |
regional strength in June 2010 | 0.98 | 0.85 |
(Points for the result) | 2 | 1 |
(Status of the game) | 4.0 | |
(Opponent strength) | 155 | 169 |
(Confederation Strength) | 0.915 | |
1134.6 | 618.5 |
- ↑ In some FIFA calculations, the factor was divided by 100, and an additional factor 100 was added to the above formula. The result is the same, so the simpler (abbreviated) formula is used in this article, as in current FIFA releases.
criticism
The calculation method for the ranking, which was valid until June 2006, was already controversial. Due to its complexity, its very long evaluation period of eight years and other factors, it was heavily criticized. Among the top 10 teams there were countries that dominated their confederations but were unable to confirm these performances in an intercontinental comparison (such as the USA). FIFA tried to counter this criticism with the calculation mode (2006-2018) described above, which was introduced after the 2006 World Cup. The curiosities described below also existed in this system. With the switch to the new SUM calculation method , most of the listed ones will be fixed. Only the problem of no direct bonuses for successful qualification also exists in the new system, although SUM explicitly provides a special rule in the event of elimination in a final round in order to counter the problem at least in this case.
No direct bonuses for successful qualification
There are no points for successfully qualifying for a World Cup finals (or the finals). As a result, teams who qualify for the World Cup (or European Championship) get fewer points in the FIFA rating than if they had missed the qualification and fewer than the teams they prevailed against in the qualification (for World Cup 2010 e.g. Algeria versus Egypt, North Korea versus Saudi Arabia, Honduras versus Costa Rica). Loses z. For example, if a team has all games in the final round, three games are counted with 0 points, so the average drops. Another team with the same number of points that failed to qualify for the final tournament will not have to accept this devaluation. In addition, a victory in the World Cup group stage is worth just as much as a victory in the semi-finals or the final, so a similar imbalance can also occur between those teams that are eliminated after the group stage and those that are eliminated in the final round.
Loss of points due to victories (until 2018)
The importance of the different games was not based on normal weighting factored, but it was only the value of a game by a factor I multiplied and then taking the average of the games without the important factor in this average I to be considered. Since z. For example, a friendly game only brought a maximum of 600 points, while other games brought up to 2400 points, the score of a team with an average of over 600 points was reduced by victories in friendly games. As a result, victories at friendly matches harmed national teams that were successful at the World or European Championships. Poland made targeted use of this mechanism to be placed in the top lottery pot at the 2018 World Cup .
To illustrate, consider the following scenario: In June 2012, Germany stood at 1288 points. The individual years included in the evaluation contributed the following scores: 555.23 (2012), 470.90 (2011), 128.35 (2010), 133.82 (2009). If Germany played a friendly game against Austria (58th place in the same ranking), it would receive 3 × 1 × 142 × 1 = 426 points for a win, which would lower the average for 2012 - and thus also the total number of points.
But even at major competitions it could come to such situations: When the Confederations Cup in 2013 took Tahiti (ranked 138) and it joined, among others, against Spain on. The Spanish results of the past twelve months had an average of 912.48 points, a win against Tahiti only brought 3 × 3 × (200−138) × (1.00 + 0.85) / 2 = 516 despite the importance of the game .15 points and thus reduced the Spanish score. Hypothetically, this could even happen at a World Cup, since the same game would only have scored a maximum of 3 × 4 × 62 × 0.925 = 688.2 points there.
Points gain by devaluing the best result (until 2018)
As described in the Calculation section , each national team's score is calculated as the sum of the average scores from four blocks of games. The first block contains the games of the last twelve months; 100% is included in the number of points; the second block contains the results of the twelve months before, 50% of it is still included, etc. If a game exceeds this time limit (becomes older than 12 months), the game changes from one block to another. It can happen that the game causes the average of the block with the older games to increase significantly more than the devaluation of one game would reduce the value. Consider the following example (cf. e.g. Switzerland, the Czech Republic around EM 2008, Sweden around EM 2012; simplified for the example for the sake of clarity):
- last 12 months: 5 victories in the World Cup qualification (about 5 × 1500 points)
- exactly 12 months ago: 1 victory at the EM (about 1800 points)
- in the 12 months before: 2 defeats at the European Championship, 3 wins in friendly matches (2 × 0, about 3 × 600 points)
The one win at the EM is the best game the team has played. After 12 months it should now be devalued from 100% to 50%.
- Score before devaluation:
- Score after devaluation:
The devaluation of the most successful game has increased the team's score by 70 points.
Disadvantage to host countries
If the host of a major tournament does not have to play any qualifying games in the years prior to the tournament because they are directly qualified, this could mean that they crash in the world rankings even without their own intervention using the calculation method that was valid before 2018. As the host of the 2006 World Cup , Germany fell ten places from 12th to 22nd place after the 2004 European Championship . Things fared even worse - after changing the calculation system - Austria (from 60th place to 101st) and Switzerland (from 13th to 48th) before the EM 2008 . The reason for this was that old games were no longer taken into account, while the host teams had no opportunity to collect points through qualifying games. This has been mitigated with the new calculation method to the effect that no automatic point loss occurs. However, friendly matches from host countries have a lower rating (with the same strength of the opponent) than qualification matches, which continues to imply a disadvantage for host countries.
Different influence of continental competitions (until 2018)
Results at the finals of continental competitions are included with a high rating. However, since continental competitions are held at different intervals - the European soccer championship every four years, the African soccer championship every two years - the following situation can now arise. If an African national team successfully defends its title without defeat (this was the case with Egypt in 2006, 2008 and 2010, for example), the new triumph will result in several wins with a weighting of 1.0 being included in the rating. The wins of the old championship, which are now weighted with 0.3, are also counted. Overall, the continental competition with a total weight of 1.3 is included in the rating, whereas the European champion is only rated once even if the title is successfully defended. Likewise, successful teams have more heavily weighted games in the rating due to the potentially higher number of qualifying games.
Another problem is that the continental competitions take place in different years. As a result, many of the teams taking part in a final round improve in the world rankings published immediately after the competition compared to members of other associations, although no comparison has been made between the associations.
Ranking of women
In July 2003, FIFA introduced a world ranking list for women's national soccer teams to enable comparison. Unlike the men's ranking, this is based on the Elo rating concept . The following table shows the top 20 teams in the world rankings. Furthermore, all German-speaking countries, the best of each confederation ( bold ), all former leaders of the world rankings (italics) , the nations that have already been world champions according to the number of world championship titles won ( * ), and those in last place are displayed .
(As of August 14, 2020, next publication: December 18, 2020) |
|
Liechtenstein is not represented here because the Liechtenstein Football Association has not yet set up a women's national team.
calculation
The ranking includes all women's international matches since April 17, 1971, when the first international women's match recognized by FIFA was played between France and the Netherlands . An expected result is calculated from the values of the two teams before the game and then compared with the actual result. If a team achieves a better result than expected, it wins points from the other team; If, on the other hand, a team does worse than expected, it loses points to the other team.
The number of points for a team is calculated using the following formula:
R AFT = R BEF + K × (M ACT - M EXP )
Where:
- R _ values in the ranking, namely
-
K is the value of a game, this indicates the maximum number of points that can be transferred between the two teams in this game.
- K = 15 × I.
-
I the importance of the match ( English I mportance of the match ). I is:
- 4 for games in a world championship final (group games and knockout round) and games at the Olympic Games .
- 3 for qualifying games for the World Cup and the Olympic Games as well as for games in continental finals (e.g. UEFA European Championship ).
- 2 for qualifying matches for continental championships and for friendly matches between TOP 10 teams.
- 1 for friendly matches [in which both teams are not in the TOP 10 of the FIFA Women's World Ranking].
Goal difference | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6 or more |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goals scored | M ACT in percent | ||||||
0 | 47 | 15th | 8th | 4th | 3 | 2 | 1 |
1 | 50 | 16 | 8.9 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 1.5 |
2 | 51 | 17th | 9.8 | 5.6 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 2 |
3 | 52 | 18th | 10.7 | 6.4 | 5.1 | 3.8 | 2.5 |
4th | 52.5 | 19th | 11.6 | 7.2 | 5.8 | 4.4 | 3 |
5 | 53 | 20th | 12.5 | 8th | 6.5 | 5 | 3.5 |
-
M ACT the (actual) game result ( English ACT ual result of the M atch ) as a value between 0 and 1. M ACT depends not only on who wins the game, but also on the goals scored.
- The M ACT value for a loss or a tie can be found in the table opposite.
- The value M ACT for a win is the 100 percent remaining difference between the value of the loser. A 5-8 defeat (marked in italics in the table ) would therefore yield the value M ACT = 0.08 for the loser and the value M ACT = 0.92 for the winner.
- As a rule, the points gained by one team correspond exactly to the point lost by the other. An exception to this is a tie, as z. B. in the case of a 0-0 - in which both teams receive the value M ACT = 0.47 - do not add the values to 100 percent, but only to 94 percent.
-
M EXP the expected game result ( English EXP ected result of the M atch ) as a value between 0 and 1.
- M EXP =
-
x the difference between the rating values of the two teams (corrected if necessary by the home bonus H).
- x =
-
H the home bonus. The home team's rating is increased by 100 points for the calculation of the expected result:
- 100 for an away game
- 0 for a game without a home team
- −100 for a home game
- ↑ The names of the various properties change several times within the official description by FIFA (e.g. "S ACT ", "A", "ACTUAL" and even the false friend "AKTUELL" in the German version for "M ACT ") ; In this article, for the sake of comparability, the terms used are consistently close to those used by men for corresponding properties.
example
A fictional example in which the clear favorite A-Land meets and loses in the World Cup quarter-finals against the team from B-Land:
Status of the game | World Cup quarter-finals | |
Teams | B-land | A country |
---|---|---|
Result | 4th | 2 |
R BEF / R OPP (pre-game rating) | 1747 | 2123 |
x (rating difference) | 0.94 | −0.94 |
M EXP (expected game result) | 10.30% | 89.70% |
M ACT (actual score) | 90.20% | 9.80% |
I (importance of the game) | 4th | |
K (value of the game) | 60 | |
R AFT (post-game rating) | 1747 + 60 × (90.20% - 10.30%) | 2123 + 60 × (9.80% - 89.70%) |
= 1795 (≙ +48) | = 2075 (≙ -48) |
Note in particular that the amount of points gained by B-Land is exactly the same as the point lost by A-Land, namely 48 points. So it is sufficient for the calculation to calculate the change for one team - and then transfer it to the other. This simplification is only not possible in the case of a tie, as additional points are awarded or deducted (see above ).
Records
- The highest value achieved so far was 2234 points. The German women's national team achieved this value on December 21, 2005.
- The longest uninterrupted time in first place: From March 21, 2008 to December 19, 2014, the USA was in first place (2464 days).
Differences to the world ranking of men
The calculation differs significantly from the world ranking for men. The main differences are:
- The world ranking list for women is calculated like the current ranking list for men using the Elo rating concept , but for women the exact game result (goal difference and goals scored) is included in the evaluation of the actual result (i.e. not just the values 1 for Win and 0 can be used for loss). Narrow victories against significantly worse placed teams can even lead to point deductions, which is not possible for men.
- All official women's international matches are taken into account in the women's ranking (i.e. since 1971); the men's ranking was changed after the 2018 World Cup, with the teams being given points depending on their previous rank.
- For women, it takes into account whether the games are home or away, but does not take into account the impact of penalty shoot-outs.
- The world rankings are only published quarterly. Usually the list is updated in March, June, September and December. In years when a World Cup is being held, the publication may be postponed if the actual date is during the championship season.
- Teams that have not played more than five games against officially ranked teams are only listed provisionally and teams that have been inactive for more than 18 months are removed from the rating, but keep their points.
Alternative ranking lists
In addition to the FIFA world rankings, there are other lists that deal with the classification of the strength of national teams. The oldest list of this kind is the Xocca world rankings, which have been published since 1981 and updated monthly until May 2007. Another list is based on the Elo number (see World Football Elo Ratings or web link). The ESPN Soccer Power Index (SPI) is based on other variables such as: B. individual skill level.
The Unofficial Football World Championships and the so-called Nasazzi staff provide an alternative interpretation of the statistics . In these fictional competitions it is determined (similar to boxing ) that the reigning world champion loses the title if the winner of the game is defeated.
See also
- UEFA coefficient for national teams UEFA ranking, u. a. to determine the EM group pots
- UEFA five-year ranking to determine the Champions and Europa League participants from the European leagues
Web links
Men
Women
Alternative rankings (men)
Individual evidence
- ↑ For the first time a duo with France and Belgium at the top FIFA.com, 20 September 2018.
- ↑ FIFA.com: World Ranking (Men's) , accessed July 21, 2020
- ↑ Calculation by September 17, 2020, 35 days together with France
- ↑ 35 days together with Belgium
- ↑ FIFA.com: FIFA / Coca-Cola World Ranking Revision , Accessed June 10, 2018
- ↑ FIFA.com: Calculation of the FIFA world rankings , accessed on August 8, 2014. (PDF file) 215 kB
- ↑ kicker.de: Poland set? The FIFA World Ranking Tricks , Retrieved September 4, 2018
- ↑ fifa.com: A lot up and down - Zambia biggest winner