The FIFA rankings: simply, why?

For decades, FIFA has announced a ranking of nations after each week of international fixtures, compiling an order from best team in the world, to worst. They believe this to be a very accurate way of deciphering who should best who in any given game. Naturally, this is never the case.

It is a well known fact that anyone can win on any given day. This is commonplace in virtually every sport on the planet. Some teams could have an off day, others might be up for the challenge. Stating who is “better” than who relies on statistics. And a lot of them. But soccer isn’t a game ruled by statistics. Of course, the team with the most points will advance, and scoring the most goals will help in winning games. But using statistics as the sole way of figuring out who will come out on top is foolish. 

Moreover, the average soccer fan is likely more educated in the realm of the beautiful game than many executives at FIFA realize. This is simply due to the game being so popular everywhere in the world, and because of the popularity of video games. Many would recognize that a team with a larger pool of talent to pull from will likely be better balanced and therefore more successful than a nation relying on players from their own domestic league. Furthermore, because soccer fans know that their game is unpredictable, and they respect that aspect of it. The unpredictability is what makes soccer amazing. FIFA has no respect for this, putting lowly teams down by suggesting that they do not belong up with the big guns.

FIFA need not present to us a ranking of nations. UEFA doesn’t do it for club games, and we are still conscious enough to realize who should come out on top, but humble enough to acknowledge that this might not be the case. Naturally, the Brazil’s, the Germany’s, and the Argentina’s will be the favorites to succeed. But this does not mean that a team 100 places below them in the rankings will not achieve success. Just look at Wales and Iceland in 2015. They were nobodies. After their Euro heroics the next year, they were in the top 20. People worldwide praise the FIFA rankings, and for what? They literally achieve nothing. Teams climb dozens of places with a win, and fall numerous spots with a defeat. Why does one result affect a team’s ability so drastically? Truthfully, it doesn’t. 

So for all of the lower teams in the world, don’t be disheartened by the monsters at FIFA. You have talent, you have passion. And honestly, that alone has the potential to win you games against anyone, and hopefully we will be treated to an upset or two in Russia in June.