FIFA rankings - why they are important and how to beat the system

[frattinator]

This is 100% putting the cart before the horse, but IF we qualify for Qatar, our seeding would be dependent on FIFA ranking right? That means we should all hope for teams ranked below us qualifying in other continents, in the hope that we get to be placed in pot 3 instead of 4 for the group stage. 

[TOCanada115]

43 minutes ago, frattinator said:

This is 100% putting the cart before the horse, but IF we qualify for Qatar, our seeding would be dependent on FIFA ranking right? That means we should all hope for teams ranked below us qualifying in other continents, in the hope that we get to be placed in pot 3 instead of 4 for the group stage. 

We needed to beat Mexico in the Gold Cup semi final to have any chance of getting into pot 3. As someone on here said before, you usually need to be ranked in the high 30’s to have a chance at pot 3. We won’t gain 30 spots by June. The Mexico win would have put us in 40’s alone. 

Edited September 8, 2021 by TOCanada115

[Kent]

32 minutes ago, TOCanada115 said:

We needed to beat Mexico in the Gold Cup semi final to have any chance of getting into pot 3. As someone on here said before, you usually need to be ranked in the high 30’s to have a chance at pot 3. We won’t gain 30 spots by June. The Mexico win would have put us in 40’s alone. 

It is a very long shot, but it is possible. If we win tonight we get nearly 12 points, which would move us from 59th to 52nd if every other team stood still. You mention we needed to beat Mexico in the Gold Cup, but if beating Mexico is on the table, we would get plenty of points (about 18 points) for doing it in World Cup Qualifying too.

In the last World Cup, Iran was ranked 34th in the world and in pot 3. We are currently about 88 points behind the 34th ranked team in the world.

[Kent]

15 hours ago, Kent said:

It is a very long shot, but it is possible. If we win tonight we get nearly 12 points, which would move us from 59th to 52nd if every other team stood still. You mention we needed to beat Mexico in the Gold Cup, but if beating Mexico is on the table, we would get plenty of points (about 18 points) for doing it in World Cup Qualifying too.

In the last World Cup, Iran was ranked 34th in the world and in pot 3. We are currently about 88 points behind the 34th ranked team in the world.

I still had the rankings calculator page up, so I just checked our updated ranking. We are in fact 52nd now, between Republic of Ireland and Ghana. We are 4th in CONCACAF now as well (not sure if we were already before last night) ahead of Jamaica now, only behind Mexico, USA, and Costa Rica.

[baulderdash77]

You beat me to it Kent.

 

Also of significance- after the October matches if they go as expected, we should crack the top 50.  This has implications for the January transfer window for Canadian international players getting work visas in Europe.

[Kent]

1 hour ago, baulderdash77 said:

You beat me to it Kent.

 

Also of significance- after the October matches if they go as expected, we should crack the top 50.  This has implications for the January transfer window for Canadian international players getting work visas in Europe.

Now I am curious what you are expecting our results to be. My trying to be unbiased first crack was a loss in Mexico, a draw in Jamaica, and a win at home against Panama. But that would only net us 4 points, which wouldn't be enough to move into 50th if everyone else stayed on the same points. Are you expecting a win in Jamaica? A draw in Mexico?

[CanadianSoccerFan]

Looks like we're 51.  2nd biggest mover in the rankings.  Just one spot away from automatic UK work permit eligibility.

http://www.football-rankings.info/2021/09/fifa-ranking-september-2021-final.html

[jtpc]

Excellent on being 4th ranked in CONCACAF now, knocking on the door to 3rd. It's nice to see us firmly in contention to be a seeded team in the next Gold Cup draw. FIFA updates the rankings on their website next week.

[baulderdash77]

On 9/9/2021 at 11:01 AM, Kent said:

Now I am curious what you are expecting our results to be. My trying to be unbiased first crack was a loss in Mexico, a draw in Jamaica, and a win at home against Panama. But that would only net us 4 points, which wouldn't be enough to move into 50th if everyone else stayed on the same points. Are you expecting a win in Jamaica? A draw in Mexico?

Yes I expect a close loss in Mexico and a win the other 2 games.

[TOcanadafan]

I know it doesn’t mean anything, but Canada all the way up to #35 in Elo Ratings… ahead of Hungary, Austria & Turkey.

[youllneverwalkalone]

[Club Linesman]

52 minutes ago, TOcanadafan said:

I know it doesn’t mean anything, but Canada all the way up to #35 in Elo Ratings… ahead of Hungary, Austria & Turkey.

Of course it does.  Many people appreciate the math that goes into the ELO rankings and it shows how Canada is gaining ground.  You can’t game these standings like you used to be able to do with FIFA. Allez Les Rouges!

[TOcanadafan]

14 minutes ago, Club Linesman said:

Of course it does.  Many people appreciate the math that goes into the ELO rankings and it shows how Canada is gaining ground.  You can’t game these standings like you used to be able to do with FIFA. Allez Les Rouges!

I completely agree with you on the math aspect.  I just meant that being 35th in the Elo rating gets you some applause, while being 35th on FIFA benefits you in terms of gaining work permits for players and advantageous seedings - something tangible.

[Sal333]

1 hour ago, TOcanadafan said:

I know it doesn’t mean anything, but Canada all the way up to #35 in Elo Ratings… ahead of Hungary, Austria & Turkey.

It means a lot and I'm gonna stick my neck and predict that by the end of these WC qualifiers Canada will earn another  ~ 100 points. That'll put us at around ~ 1836, breaking into the top 20.

[Approve My Account Pls]

1 hour ago, TOcanadafan said:

I know it doesn’t mean anything, but Canada all the way up to #35 in Elo Ratings… ahead of Hungary, Austria & Turkey.

Is it crazy that I look at the countries on this screenshot and am not scared of our boys going up against any of these countries? Don't get me wrong its not like we're the favourite in all of them, but if there were such a thing as a 7-game series in soccer, I don't think anyone on here sweeps us or embarrasses us for example

[baulderdash77]

50 minutes ago, Sal333 said:

It means a lot and I'm gonna stick my neck and predict that by the end of these WC qualifiers Canada will earn another  ~ 100 points. That'll put us at around ~ 1836, breaking into the top 20.

If Canada qualifies for the WC as the 3rd seed they will likely have 22-25 points in the table.  
 

For sure that means another 50-100 points in the Fifa ratings and they will be solidly in the top 35 at least.

[WheatsheafSK]

FIFA has officially updated us to 51:  https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/men?dateId=id13407./

[narduch]

Probably would have been top 50 had we beat Honduras

[Jedi Ram]

7 hours ago, narduch said:

Probably would have been top 50 had we beat Honduras

Did the math and we would be 50th with 1428.63 points had we beaten Honduras.

This includes the revised numbers against USA and El Salvador as the valuation of draw and win would be different.

[baulderdash77]

If everything goes according to expectations we should be 48-50 for the January transfer window.

That means our entire national team squad will be automatically eligible for a UK work permit.  This is fairly big news for the program.

[gigi riva]

just keep winning when it matters, and you will see us gradually move up in the rankings 

[nfitz]

5 hours ago, baulderdash77 said:

If everything goes according to expectations we should be 48-50 for the January transfer window.

That means our entire national team squad will be automatically eligible for a UK work permit.  This is fairly big news for the program.

Ultimately yes - but I'd think that whatever happens in January, is half-sorted already, and probably we won't see this make a difference for a year or two.

What happens to your work permit, when you need to renew, and you are back below 50?

[SpursFlu]

I have a question

What is the largest increase ever in rankings by one country from one world cup to another?

This isn't a pop quiz, im just curious to know

[nolando]

16 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

I have a question

What is the largest increase ever in rankings by one country from one world cup to another?

This isn't a pop quiz, im just curious to know

My hunch would be a David beats Goliath country doing well in a regional tournament or WC like Iceland or Qatar or somewhere comparable in Africa. On the other hand, it could be country nearly 200th ranked that finally had had decent coach and a competitive team and did will in the ANC or something. Must be relatively to leapfrog a lot of minnows in one fell swoop.

[Approve My Account Pls]

1 hour ago, SpursFlu said:

I have a question

What is the largest increase ever in rankings by one country from one world cup to another?

This isn't a pop quiz, im just curious to know

Could Iceland from start of 2016 Euro qualifiers to post Euro or 2018 WC be a contender?