Looking at points dropped (best case scenario), the top 10 losers are African teams:
-324 - Egypt
-146 - Algeria
-126 - Nigeria
-124 - Gabon
-88 - Zambia
-75 - Mali
-71 - Angola
-68 - Cameroon
-46 - Benin
-39 - Botswana
Botswana join the list after losing to Sweden.
Looking at points won (worst case scenario):
117 - Uzbekistan
99 - Jordan
79 - Iran
78 - Qatar
67 - El Salvador
48 - Costa Rica
47 - Sweden
47 - Iraq
29 - Argentina
25 - Syria
El Salvador and Costa Rica added to the list after performing well at the 2011 Copa Centroamericana.
January 2011 rank - Country - January 2011 points - Minimum points - Maximum points
1 | Spain | 1887 | 1887 | 1887 |
2 | Netherlands | 1723 | 1723 | 1723 |
3 | Germany | 1485 | 1485 | 1485 |
4 | Brazil | 1446 | 1446 | 1446 |
5 | Argentina | 1338 | 1367 | 1367 |
6 | England | 1195 | 1195 | 1195 |
7 | Uruguay | 1152 | 1152 | 1152 |
8 | Portugal | 1090 | 1090 | 1090 |
9 | Croatia | 1075 | 1075 | 1075 |
10 | Egypt | 1036 | 712 | 712 |
11 | Greece | 1016 | 1016 | 1016 |
12 | Norway | 995 | 995 | 995 |
13 | Russia | 982 | 982 | 982 |
14 | Italy | 965 | 965 | 965 |
15 | Chile | 950 | 935 | 970 |
16 | Ghana | 924 | 940 | 940 |
17 | Slovenia | 897 | 897 | 897 |
18 | France | 867 | 867 | 867 |
18 | USA | 867 | 857 | 894 |
20 | Slovakia | 854 | 854 | 854 |
21 | Côte d'Ivoire | 845 | 813 | 813 |
22 | Switzerland | 841 | 841 | 841 |
23 | Serbia | 837 | 837 | 837 |
24 | Paraguay | 832 | 832 | 832 |
25 | Montenegro | 824 | 824 | 824 |
26 | Australia | 796 | 797 | 917 |
27 | Mexico | 795 | 803 | 803 |
28 | Denmark | 790 | 802 | 802 |
29 | Japan | 776 | 778 | 900 |
30 | Czech Republic | 751 | 751 | 751 |
31 | Turkey | 741 | 741 | 741 |
32 | Nigeria | 730 | 604 | 604 |
33 | Sweden | 712 | 759 | 759 |
34 | Ukraine | 702 | 702 | 702 |
35 | Republic of Ireland | 681 | 681 | 681 |
36 | Algeria | 678 | 532 | 532 |
37 | Belarus | 660 | 655 | 655 |
38 | Cameroon | 650 | 582 | 582 |
39 | Korea Republic | 649 | 668 | 804 |
40 | Gabon | 640 | 516 | 516 |
41 | Hungary | 632 | 632 | 632 |
42 | Burkina Faso | 619 | 598 | 598 |
43 | Northern Ireland | 615 | 615 | 615 |
44 | Tunisia | 592 | 560 | 560 |
45 | Bosnia-Herzegovina | 582 | 583 | 583 |
46 | Austria | 569 | 569 | 569 |
46 | Guinea | 569 | 564 | 564 |
48 | Colombia | 558 | 558 | 558 |
49 | Bulgaria | 555 | 555 | 555 |
50 | Israel | 551 | 551 | 551 |
51 | South Africa | 550 | 562 | 562 |
52 | Ecuador | 542 | 537 | 537 |
52 | Scotland | 542 | 542 | 542 |
54 | Botswana | 535 | 496 | 496 |
55 | Lithuania | 532 | 532 | 532 |
56 | Honduras | 531 | 535 | 614 |
56 | Romania | 531 | 531 | 531 |
58 | Belgium | 526 | 526 | 526 |
59 | Jamaica | 522 | 525 | 525 |
60 | Armenia | 515 | 514 | 514 |
60 | Venezuela | 515 | 513 | 513 |
62 | Cuba | 512 | 498 | 498 |
63 | New Zealand | 506 | 506 | 506 |
64 | Albania | 497 | 497 | 497 |
65 | Iran | 491 | 570 | 759 |
66 | Peru | 486 | 486 | 486 |
67 | Panama | 475 | 471 | 601 |
68 | Mali | 474 | 399 | 399 |
69 | Costa Rica | 467 | 515 | 655 |
70 | Senegal | 465 | 459 | 459 |
71 | Libya | 451 | 451 | 451 |
72 | Benin | 449 | 403 | 403 |
72 | Georgia | 449 | 449 | 449 |
72 | Poland | 449 | 449 | 449 |
75 | Cape Verde Islands | 444 | 444 | 444 |
76 | Latvia | 440 | 429 | 429 |
77 | Morocco | 437 | 443 | 443 |
78 | Saudi Arabia | 423 | 410 | 410 |
79 | China PR | 419 | 431 | 431 |
79 | Finland | 419 | 422 | 422 |
81 | FYR Macedonia | 418 | 418 | 418 |
81 | Zambia | 418 | 330 | 330 |
83 | Uganda | 416 | 394 | 394 |
84 | Canada | 411 | 414 | 414 |
84 | Moldova | 411 | 411 | 411 |
86 | Estonia | 386 | 386 | 386 |
87 | Trinidad and Tobago | 373 | 351 | 351 |
88 | Angola | 368 | 297 | 297 |
89 | Cyprus | 367 | 367 | 367 |
90 | Haiti | 358 | 349 | 349 |
91 | Malawi | 355 | 371 | 371 |
92 | Mozambique | 353 | 351 | 351 |
93 | Bahrain | 351 | 355 | 355 |
94 | Grenada | 349 | 358 | 358 |
94 | Niger | 349 | 349 | 349 |
96 | Bolivia | 344 | 344 | 344 |
97 | Azerbaijan | 343 | 344 | 344 |
98 | Iraq | 334 | 381 | 523 |
99 | Kuwait | 328 | 330 | 330 |
100 | Sudan | 314 | 301 | 301 |
101 | Togo | 313 | 313 | 313 |
102 | United Arab Emirates | 304 | 278 | 278 |
103 | Antigua and Barbuda | 299 | 303 | 303 |
104 | Oman | 297 | 281 | 281 |
105 | Gambia | 290 | 290 | 290 |
105 | Qatar | 290 | 368 | 556 |
107 | Jordan | 286 | 385 | 587 |
108 | Uzbekistan | 285 | 402 | 612 |
109 | Korea DPR | 283 | 288 | 288 |
110 | Syria | 277 | 302 | 302 |
111 | Guyana | 275 | 273 | 273 |
112 | Central African Republic | 263 | 263 | 263 |
113 | Iceland | 261 | 263 | 263 |
113 | Wales | 261 | 261 | 261 |
115 | Suriname | 257 | 257 | 257 |
116 | El Salvador | 251 | 318 | 500 |
117 | Guatemala | 247 | 187 | 220 |
118 | Zimbabwe | 246 | 264 | 264 |
119 | Thailand | 244 | 237 | 237 |
120 | Tanzania | 243 | 232 | 232 |
121 | St. Kitts and Nevis | 242 | 242 | 242 |
122 | Congo | 239 | 239 | 239 |
123 | Sierra Leone | 233 | 233 | 233 |
124 | Ethiopia | 231 | 231 | 231 |
125 | Kenya | 225 | 208 | 208 |
126 | Indonesia | 224 | 192 | 192 |
127 | Yemen | 222 | 230 | 230 |
128 | Congo DR | 211 | 234 | 234 |
129 | Dominica | 196 | 196 | 196 |
130 | Barbados | 187 | 183 | 183 |
131 | Puerto Rico | 184 | 187 | 187 |
132 | Luxembourg | 180 | 185 | 185 |
133 | Turkmenistan | 173 | 182 | 182 |
134 | Faroe Islands | 171 | 171 | 171 |
134 | Rwanda | 171 | 171 | 171 |
136 | Vietnam | 167 | 172 | 172 |
137 | Kazakhstan | 161 | 161 | 161 |
138 | Namibia | 156 | 157 | 157 |
139 | Singapore | 151 | 139 | 139 |
140 | Burundi | 147 | 134 | 134 |
140 | Chad | 147 | 147 | 147 |
142 | Malaysia | 145 | 145 | 145 |
143 | Tajikistan | 141 | 141 | 141 |
144 | India | 132 | 126 | 126 |
144 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 132 | 110 | 110 |
146 | Hong Kong | 128 | 138 | 138 |
147 | Guinea-Bissau | 121 | 121 | 121 |
148 | Liechtenstein | 116 | 116 | 116 |
149 | Myanmar | 109 | 108 | 108 |
150 | Netherlands Antilles | 107 | 107 | 107 |
151 | Fiji | 103 | 103 | 103 |
152 | Chinese Taipei | 102 | 93 | 93 |
153 | Philippines | 97 | 101 | 101 |
154 | Madagascar | 91 | 91 | 91 |
155 | New Caledonia | 89 | 89 | 89 |
156 | Cayman Islands | 88 | 88 | 88 |
157 | Nicaragua | 86 | 79 | 188 |
158 | Bangladesh | 84 | 84 | 84 |
159 | Liberia | 82 | 82 | 82 |
159 | Swaziland | 82 | 82 | 82 |
161 | Maldives | 81 | 81 | 81 |
162 | Sri Lanka | 79 | 79 | 79 |
163 | Malta | 76 | 76 | 76 |
164 | Equatorial Guinea | 72 | 72 | 72 |
165 | Cambodia | 68 | 68 | 68 |
166 | Vanuatu | 67 | 67 | 67 |
167 | Dominican Republic | 66 | 66 | 66 |
168 | Laos | 64 | 64 | 64 |
168 | Lebanon | 64 | 61 | 61 |
170 | Lesotho | 62 | 62 | 62 |
171 | Pakistan | 56 | 56 | 56 |
172 | Bermuda | 55 | 67 | 67 |
173 | Belize | 54 | 64 | 64 |
173 | Nepal | 54 | 54 | 54 |
175 | Kyrgyzstan | 50 | 50 | 50 |
176 | Mauritania | 49 | 49 | 49 |
177 | British Virgin Islands | 41 | 41 | 41 |
178 | Eritrea | 40 | 40 | 40 |
178 | Palestine | 40 | 40 | 40 |
178 | Solomon Islands | 40 | 40 | 40 |
181 | St. Lucia | 37 | 37 | 37 |
182 | Mongolia | 32 | 32 | 32 |
183 | Tahiti | 31 | 31 | 31 |
184 | Samoa | 26 | 26 | 26 |
185 | Somalia | 23 | 23 | 23 |
186 | Comoros | 19 | 19 | 19 |
186 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 19 | 19 | 19 |
188 | Cook Islands | 17 | 17 | 17 |
188 | Guam | 17 | 17 | 17 |
188 | Tonga | 17 | 17 | 17 |
191 | Mauritius | 16 | 16 | 16 |
192 | Djibouti | 15 | 15 | 15 |
193 | Macau | 14 | 14 | 14 |
194 | Bahamas | 13 | 13 | 13 |
195 | Afghanistan | 10 | 10 | 10 |
195 | Seychelles | 10 | 10 | 10 |
197 | Bhutan | 9 | 9 | 9 |
197 | Brunei Darussalam | 9 | 9 | 9 |
199 | Aruba | 7 | 7 | 7 |
200 | US Virgin Islands | 5 | 5 | 5 |
201 | Timor-Leste | 3 | 3 | 3 |
202 | Andorra | 2 | 2 | 2 |
203 | American Samoa | 0 | 0 | 0 |
203 | Anguilla | 0 | 0 | 0 |
203 | Montserrat | 0 | 0 | 0 |
203 | Papua New Guinea | 0 | 0 | 0 |
203 | San Marino | 0 | 0 | 0 |
If that's the worst case scenario, I am shocked El Salvador can grab 67pts for beating Belize and Nicaragua and then taking 3 losses.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Panama? They beat all 3 and would only take 2 losses and they can't even make the list?!
ReplyDeleteHi Edgar,
ReplyDeleteI've always been amused that FIFA has been ranking the USA much higher than Mexico for quite some time, while the ELO Rankings show the opposite.
If you had an interest (and time), it would be great to see what is the driving the FIFA (point) difference between these two teams. Can one match (USA vs Spain?) account for all the difference? Or, does one year or multiple years account for the difference? It would be interesting to see such your conclusions from an attribution.
It would also be great to see the same thing for the ELO Rankings, although I realize ELO uses a full history and not just the last four years. But to make things simpler, maybe there was a time around 4 years when USA and MEX had similar point levels that could be used a starting point. From there, was it a few bad losses that hurt the USA?
Many thanks if you choose this mission :-)
@ Dorian
ReplyDeleteI can help you out a bit with this. The biggest contributing factor to this difference will be the 5-0 win for Mexico over the US at the Gold Cup.
FIFA doesn't care how much you win a match by, ELO does. FIFA doesn't care whether you win home or away, ELO does. In ELO teams also strip points from the teams they beat. Sadly I can't get the ELO ratings page up, I've been trying for a few days. But Mexico will have stripped a tremendous number of points off the US for winning 5-0 away at a continental finals.
@ Dorian
ReplyDeleteIn fact this will have bled a lot of points from the US in ELO, as they will have recieved the reductions that come with home wins in all of their Gold Cup games. So I think that is your big difference maker.
@Lorric,
ReplyDeleteThank you for pointing out the USA-MEX Gold Cup match. I found a cached version of ELO Rankings (matches through Jan 17, 2011), and that match added 76 points to MEX while subtracting these points from USA.
The cached version had MEX with 1828 points (11th) and USA with 1743 points (T-24th) for a difference of 85 points.
So, had that match not taken place, USA would have 1819 points (11th) and MEX would have 1752 points (23rd) -- basically swapping places.
I wonder how USA and MEX would be impacted in the FIFA Rankings had that match not occurred. (MEX's points would be unchanged, right?). USA's points would drop by...?
Thx.
@ Dorian
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. 76! That might make the ELO Rankings' Biggest Upset list!
You'll have to leave that one to Edgar, but if the match hadn't taken place, Mexico's score would fall for not having the victory, while US's score would rise for not being beaten, widening the gap between the two teams in the FIFA rankings.
@Dorian
ReplyDeleteMexico played more friendlies since the last qualifying matches, while USA played more European teams than Mexico who also played several low ranking teams like Gambia, North Korea or New Zealand.. This would hurt Mexico's average more than USA's.
Thanks, everyone.
ReplyDelete@ Dorian
ReplyDeleteHey there Dorian. I was right, it made the list!
http://www.eloratings.net/Upsets.htm
Scroll down to the bottom. It dwarfs a lot of the others for points taken. I don't like the list itself though, I think it should be reserved for biggest point gaps between teams' totals, not heavy victories.
@ Lorric
ReplyDeleteActually El Salvador did not take 3 straight losses. The last one was a loss after a penalty shoot-out which still brings them 1 point.
@ La Selecta
ReplyDeleteThat was written regarding the "worst case scenario" and written before the semi finals. So if that is accurate (and I wonder if Edgar has mixed up Panama and El Salvador) El Salvador's 67pts should rise for doing a little better than the worst case scenario.
@Soccer-db.net and Lorric
ReplyDeleteThanks guys for helping Dorian.
@La Selecta
Lorric is right - it was a worst case scenario - El Salvador losing their next two matches.
@Lorric
No, I didn't mixed up Panama and El Salvador. Worst case scenario for Panama would have seen them losing 4 points. El Salvador had dreadful results in the Copa Centramericana build-up, so these wins (qualifier multiplier - 2.5) have really helped them.
You're welcome.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so sorry for having the temerity to dare to question your judgement, Oh Great And Wise Edgar! :)
I'm still surprised that beating two teams at minimum points gain could yield so may points though, especially with losses sprinkled in.
@ Edgar
ReplyDeleteYou know, that just makes me even more irritated that the AFC Challenge Cup is not treated as a qualifying tournament!
@Lorric
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so sorry for having the temerity to dare to question your judgement, Oh Great And Wise Edgar! :)
:)) It's better to ask questions than to believe everything you read on the Internet. ;)
@ Edgar. Oh yes. I like asking questions. But you already know that! :)
ReplyDelete