If the changes to the FIFA statutes are approved by the Congress (Budapest, 24-25 May).
Congress agenda on FIFA.com.
Some interesting changes (membership process, limits to duration of mandates, changes in the EXCO, disciplinary measures):
1. The Executive Committee shall decide the venue for the final competitions organised by FIFA, with the sole exception of the venue for the final competition of the FIFA World Cup™, which shall be decided by the Congress in accordance with art. 81 par.2.
2. The decision on the venue for the final competition of the FIFA World Cup™ aims to achieve the objective of securing the best possible hosting conditions in the host Country and shall follow the procedure below:
a) Based on specific regulations to be issued by the Executive Committee, the FIFA administration shall establish a fair and transparent bidding procedure, inviting all qualified Members to submit a bid and defining in detail the requirements for the bidding and hosting as well as criteria for selecting the host of the event.
b) Based on its best judgement, the FIFA administration shall submit to the Executive Committee a public report evaluating the compliance of all bids with the bidding procedure and the requirements for hosting the event, taking into consideration the defined criteria for selecting the host.
c) The Executive Committee shall review the report and designate, based on its best judgement and in an open ballot, three bids to be submitted to Congress for a final decision. The result of each ballot shall be made public.
d) The Congress shall select by open ballot the host venue from the three bids designated by the Executive Committee. An absolute majority (50% + 1) of the Members present and eligible to vote is necessary in the first ballot. If an absolute majority is not reached in the first ballot, then the bid with the lowest number of votes in the first ballot is eliminated. In the second ballot, a simple majority (50%+1) of the valid votes cast is sufficient.
3. A Congress may not award the hosting rights to more than one FIFA World Cup™ at the same meeting.
4. The right to host the event shall not be awarded to members of the same Confederation for two consecutive editions of the FIFA World Cup™.
Independence: a candidate for the office of chairman or deputy chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee, the Nomination Committee or either of the two chambers of the Ethics Committee shall not be considered independent if at any time during the four years preceding his term he or any family member (spouse, children, stepchildren, parents, siblings, domestic partner, parents of spouse/domestic partner and siblings and children of domestic partner):
• held any paid position or material contract (directly or indirectly) with FIFA and/or any Member, Confederation, League or Club (including any of their affiliated companies/organisations);
• was employed by FIFA’s outside legal counsel or by FIFA’s auditor (and was engaged in auditing FIFA
• held any paid or voluntary position with a non-profit organisation to which FIFA and/or any Member, Confederation, League or Club makes annual payments in excess of USD 100,000.
Membership is only permitted if an Association is currently a member of a Confederation.
The duration of the mandate of the President shall be limited to eight years (two terms of four years each).
The duration of the mandate of the Executive Committee members shall be limited to 12 years (three terms of four years each).
The EXCO will have one extra member - the Representative of Women's Football (a woman).
Match replay added as disciplinary measures for legal persons (clubs / national teams).
Social work added as disciplinary measures for natural persons.
Recourse to ordinary courts of law for all types of provisional measures is prohibited.
UEFA's EXCO allocation changes from two vice-presidents and five members (7 in total) to one vice-president and seven members (8 in total).
The British associations EXCO allocation is removed - they currently have one vice-president.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Kuwait FA publish 2015 Asian Cup preliminary seeding
Three days ago the Kuwaiti FA published the seeding for the 2015 Asian Cup preliminary draw (scheduled to take place in mid-October).
The pots are the same as those I've published on 30 March, based on info received from AFC.
The pots are the same as those I've published on 30 March, based on info received from AFC.
FIFA Ranking: Teams in need of matches for the May 2012 ranking
There are 22 teams that will not have the required 5 matches in the last 12 months when the December 2009 FIFA Ranking will be released. For these teams, FIFA will basically add a number of "virtual defeats" equal to the difference between the number of matches actually played by that team in the last 12 months and the required 5 matches.
Only Cape Verde Islands will be in the top 100.
11 countries managed to get positive results in the last 12 months, but they lose points because of the 5 matches requirement.
New Zealand (68th in the Elo Ratings) are also on the list - three matches in the last 12 months - all defeats.
Country - Points lost - Probable May 2012 ranking
Only Cape Verde Islands will be in the top 100.
11 countries managed to get positive results in the last 12 months, but they lose points because of the 5 matches requirement.
New Zealand (68th in the Elo Ratings) are also on the list - three matches in the last 12 months - all defeats.
Country - Points lost - Probable May 2012 ranking
| Bahamas | 198 | 161 |
| Cambodia | 97 | 175 |
| Mongolia | 96 | 177 |
| Aruba | 77 | 167 |
| Cape Verde Islands | 59 | 76 |
| Tonga | 56 | 177 |
| Yemen | 27 | 156 |
| Eritrea | 26 | 190 |
| Papua New Guinea | 23 | 193 |
| Laos | 16 | 173 |
| Benin | 12 | 124 |
| Guam | 7 | 194 |
| Anguilla | 6 | 200 |
| New Zealand | 0 | 130 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 0 | 195 |
| British Virgin Islands | 0 | 199 |
| Mauritania | 0 | 201 |
| Brunei Darussalam | 0 | 201 |
| Bhutan | 0 | 201 |
| Timor-Leste | 0 | 204 |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | 0 | 205 |
| Montserrat | 0 | 205 |
Futsal in the FIFA ranking and Canada's demographic explosion
Last Friday, FIFA published the statistical kits for the Olympic draw (men and women).
You will notice the dramatic demographic explosion taking place in Canada. Their population suddenly increased from 34,3 millions to 314 millions (see page 11). Of course, someone at FIFA just made a mistake when sorting the table.
On Wednesday, futsal matches appeared in the list of football fixtures and in the FIFA ranking prediction tool. This is fixed now, but here's a little screen shot.
Friday, April 20, 2012
2006 FIFA World Cup preliminary draw: Errors in the European seeding?
Yes, 2006 and not 2014.
I had to find the seeding the last couple of qualifying draws in Europe (for both the EURO and the World Cup) for an article posted today.
The old UEFA national team coefficient was computed by simply dividing the total number of points in the last two qualifying competitions by the number of matches played.
There's something very strange in the 2006 FIFA world Cup preliminary seeding for the European zone (see pdf file from archive.org, since the original page now simply redirects to FIFA.com)
It says:
"The 51 countries will be classified on the basis of their results in the qualifying competitions for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan and EURO 2004."
There's no info on tie breakers if two or more associations have equal coefficients.
Paragraph 6.03 of the EURO 2008 regulations (the last qualifying draw with the old coefficient):
"If two or more associations have the same coefficient, the following criteria will be applied:
a) coefficient from the matches played in its most recent qualifying competition,
b) average goal difference,
c) average number of goals scored,
d) average number of away goals scored,
e) drawing of lots."
Applying these criteria, four teams will be in different pots:
Bulgaria would have replaced Poland in the second pot.
Ukraine would have replaced Austria in the third pot.
Ukraine have no reason to complain. They won their group and were the first European team to clinch qualification.
Group 2: Turkey, Denmark, Greece, Ukraine, Georgia, Albania, Kazakhstan
Bulgaria finished 3rd in their group, 9 points of the pace set by Croatia and Sweden.
Group 8: Sweden, Croatia, Bulgaria, Iceland, Hungary, Malta.
Poland and Austria were in the same group. Poland finished 2nd and qualified for the final tournament. Austria were 3rd, 9 points behind Poland.
Group 6: England, Poland, Austria, Wales, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan
This is how the groups would have looked like with the aforementioned criteria:
Group 2: Turkey, Denmark, Greece, Austria, Georgia, Albania, Kazakhstan
Group 6: England, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Wales, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan
Group 8: Sweden, Croatia, Poland, Iceland, Hungary, Malta
I had to find the seeding the last couple of qualifying draws in Europe (for both the EURO and the World Cup) for an article posted today.
The old UEFA national team coefficient was computed by simply dividing the total number of points in the last two qualifying competitions by the number of matches played.
There's something very strange in the 2006 FIFA world Cup preliminary seeding for the European zone (see pdf file from archive.org, since the original page now simply redirects to FIFA.com)
It says:
"The 51 countries will be classified on the basis of their results in the qualifying competitions for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan and EURO 2004."
There's no info on tie breakers if two or more associations have equal coefficients.
Paragraph 6.03 of the EURO 2008 regulations (the last qualifying draw with the old coefficient):
"If two or more associations have the same coefficient, the following criteria will be applied:
a) coefficient from the matches played in its most recent qualifying competition,
b) average goal difference,
c) average number of goals scored,
d) average number of away goals scored,
e) drawing of lots."
Applying these criteria, four teams will be in different pots:
Bulgaria would have replaced Poland in the second pot.
Ukraine would have replaced Austria in the third pot.
Ukraine have no reason to complain. They won their group and were the first European team to clinch qualification.
Group 2: Turkey, Denmark, Greece, Ukraine, Georgia, Albania, Kazakhstan
Bulgaria finished 3rd in their group, 9 points of the pace set by Croatia and Sweden.
Group 8: Sweden, Croatia, Bulgaria, Iceland, Hungary, Malta.
Poland and Austria were in the same group. Poland finished 2nd and qualified for the final tournament. Austria were 3rd, 9 points behind Poland.
Group 6: England, Poland, Austria, Wales, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan
This is how the groups would have looked like with the aforementioned criteria:
Group 2: Turkey, Denmark, Greece, Austria, Georgia, Albania, Kazakhstan
Group 6: England, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Wales, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan
Group 8: Sweden, Croatia, Poland, Iceland, Hungary, Malta
Mircea Lucescu criticises FIFA
Mircea Lucescu is really a great manager. In the last 20 years, only three managers outside of Western Europe have managed to win an European trophy. All three have won the UEFA Cup: Fatih Terim (2000 with Galatasaray), Valery Gazzaev (2005 with CSKA Moscow) and Lucescu (2009 with Shakhtar Donetsk).
He also won all sorts of league and cup titles in Romania, Italy (Serie B), Turkey and Ukraine.
He's not always right though.
Last Saturday, in an interview with Dolce Sport, he claimed the seedings have been introduced in order to have the strongest teams at the final tournaments and that before these seedings were introduced, the draws were open and anything could happen. He also said that because of the seeding, countries with a footballing tradition have the upper hand and thus it will be very difficult for Romania to qualify.
Probably long time ago there were open draws for the preliminaries, but in recent history, Europe has always used seeding and Romania were in the first pot 4 (yes, four!) times. Two of these times they failed to qualify...
1998 World Cup - FIFA Ranking (1st pot)
Qualified (1st place) from a group that had the Republic of Ireland, Lithuania, Macedonia, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
2000 EURO - UEFA NT Coefficient (1st pot)
Qualified (1st place) from a group that had Portugal, Slovakia, Hungary, Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein.
2002 World Cup - UEFA NT Coefficient (1st pot)
Didn't qualify. Finished second in a group that had Italy, Georgia, Hungary and Lithuania, then lost the play-off against Slovenia.
2004 EURO - UEFA NT Coefficient (1st pot)
Didn't qualify. Finished third in a group that had Denmark, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Luxembourg.
2006 World Cup - UEFA NT Coefficient (3rd pot)
Didn't qualify. Finished third in a group that had Netherlands, Czech Republic, Finland, Macedonia, Armenia and Andorra.
2008 EURO - UEFA NT Coefficient (2nd pot)
Qualified (1st place) from a group that had Netherlands, Bulgaria, Belarus, Albania, Slovenia and Luxembourg.
Before their final group match against Bulgaria, Romania were already qualified. Long before the match I wrote an article explaining the need to win against Bulgaria in order to be in the first po for the next preliminary draw. The article made its way to the Romanian FA, but Romania lost in Sofia. With a draw against Bulgaria and keeping the same draw order, Romania's opponents for the 2010 World Cup would have been: Norway, Switzerland, Moldova, Letonia and Luxembourg.
2010 World Cup - FIFA Ranking (2nd pot)
Finished fifth in a group that had Serbia, France, Austria, Lithuania and Faroe Islands.
2012 EURO - NEW UEFA NT Coefficient (2nd pot)
Finished third in a group that had France, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belarus, Albania and Luxembourg.
2014 World Cup - FIFA Ranking (4th pot)
After their final game in the EURO 2012 preliminaries before the draw (a 3 - 0 against Bosnia-Herzegovina), Romania went to South America with a depleted squad and lost two friendlies against Brazil and Paraguay. I wrote FRF about the need to win against Paraguay in order to climb in the third pot. However, Romania would have displaced Hungary and its group (Netherlands, Turkey, Hungary, Estonia and Andorra) wouldn't have changed.
Romania had plenty of football tradition as Mircea Lucescu calls it, but lost it. And let's remember his son, Razvan Lucescu, was in charge of Romania between 2009 and 2011.
He also won all sorts of league and cup titles in Romania, Italy (Serie B), Turkey and Ukraine.
He's not always right though.
Last Saturday, in an interview with Dolce Sport, he claimed the seedings have been introduced in order to have the strongest teams at the final tournaments and that before these seedings were introduced, the draws were open and anything could happen. He also said that because of the seeding, countries with a footballing tradition have the upper hand and thus it will be very difficult for Romania to qualify.
Probably long time ago there were open draws for the preliminaries, but in recent history, Europe has always used seeding and Romania were in the first pot 4 (yes, four!) times. Two of these times they failed to qualify...
1998 World Cup - FIFA Ranking (1st pot)
Qualified (1st place) from a group that had the Republic of Ireland, Lithuania, Macedonia, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
2000 EURO - UEFA NT Coefficient (1st pot)
Qualified (1st place) from a group that had Portugal, Slovakia, Hungary, Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein.
2002 World Cup - UEFA NT Coefficient (1st pot)
Didn't qualify. Finished second in a group that had Italy, Georgia, Hungary and Lithuania, then lost the play-off against Slovenia.
2004 EURO - UEFA NT Coefficient (1st pot)
Didn't qualify. Finished third in a group that had Denmark, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Luxembourg.
2006 World Cup - UEFA NT Coefficient (3rd pot)
Didn't qualify. Finished third in a group that had Netherlands, Czech Republic, Finland, Macedonia, Armenia and Andorra.
2008 EURO - UEFA NT Coefficient (2nd pot)
Qualified (1st place) from a group that had Netherlands, Bulgaria, Belarus, Albania, Slovenia and Luxembourg.
Before their final group match against Bulgaria, Romania were already qualified. Long before the match I wrote an article explaining the need to win against Bulgaria in order to be in the first po for the next preliminary draw. The article made its way to the Romanian FA, but Romania lost in Sofia. With a draw against Bulgaria and keeping the same draw order, Romania's opponents for the 2010 World Cup would have been: Norway, Switzerland, Moldova, Letonia and Luxembourg.
2010 World Cup - FIFA Ranking (2nd pot)
Finished fifth in a group that had Serbia, France, Austria, Lithuania and Faroe Islands.
2012 EURO - NEW UEFA NT Coefficient (2nd pot)
Finished third in a group that had France, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belarus, Albania and Luxembourg.
2014 World Cup - FIFA Ranking (4th pot)
After their final game in the EURO 2012 preliminaries before the draw (a 3 - 0 against Bosnia-Herzegovina), Romania went to South America with a depleted squad and lost two friendlies against Brazil and Paraguay. I wrote FRF about the need to win against Paraguay in order to climb in the third pot. However, Romania would have displaced Hungary and its group (Netherlands, Turkey, Hungary, Estonia and Andorra) wouldn't have changed.
Romania had plenty of football tradition as Mircea Lucescu calls it, but lost it. And let's remember his son, Razvan Lucescu, was in charge of Romania between 2009 and 2011.
April 2012: FIFA Ranking vs. Elo Ratings
Top 10 differences for countries with a better Elo Rating:
Team - FIFA Ranking - Elo Rating - Difference
| Solomon Islands | 184 | 120 | 64 |
| Syria | 126 | 64 | 62 |
| New Zealand | 130 | 68 | 62 |
| Mauritania | 202 | 157 | 45 |
| Fiji | 160 | 117 | 43 |
| Vanuatu | 172 | 130 | 42 |
| Bulgaria | 96 | 56 | 40 |
| Cyprus | 133 | 96 | 37 |
| Moldova | 142 | 106 | 36 |
| New Caledonia | 154 | 119 | 35 |
Top 10 differences for countries with a better FIFA Ranking:
Team - FIFA Ranking - Elo Rating - Difference
| Sierra Leone | 63 | 126 | -63 |
| São Tomé e Príncipe | 116 | 170 | -54 |
| Algeria | 38 | 87 | -49 |
| Luxembourg | 119 | 163 | -44 |
| Libya | 46 | 86 | -40 |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | 111 | 150 | -39 |
| Samoa | 155 | 192 | -37 |
| Vietnam | 97 | 132 | -35 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 100 | 134 | -34 |
| Bermuda | 108 | 142 | -34 |
Top 50 nations only (in the top 50 in at least one of the rankings)
Top 10 differences for countries with a better Elo Rating:
Team - FIFA Ranking - Elo Rating - Difference
| Poland | 65 | 38 | 27 |
| Egypt | 55 | 32 | 23 |
| Ukraine | 49 | 27 | 22 |
| Cameroon | 64 | 44 | 20 |
| Iran | 51 | 33 | 18 |
| Costa Rica | 59 | 43 | 16 |
| Nigeria | 60 | 45 | 15 |
| Ecuador | 37 | 23 | 14 |
| Korea Republic | 31 | 21 | 10 |
| Jamaica | 56 | 46 | 10 |
Top 10 differences for countries with a better FIFA Ranking:
Team - FIFA Ranking - Elo Rating - Difference
| Algeria | 38 | 87 | -49 |
| Libya | 46 | 86 | -40 |
| Armenia | 47 | 80 | -33 |
| Gabon | 42 | 72 | -30 |
| Slovakia | 35 | 64 | -29 |
| Slovenia | 28 | 53 | -25 |
| El Salvador | 49 | 70 | -21 |
| Mali | 39 | 58 | -19 |
| Ghana | 22 | 37 | -15 |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | 27 | 41 | -14 |
Matches I would have liked to see before the next ranking:
Poland - Slovakia
Egypt - Armenia
Ukraine - Slovenia
Cameroon - Algeria
Iran - Estonia
Costa Rica - Sierra Leone
Nigeria - Libya
Ecuador - Bosnia-Herzegovina
Korea Republic - Wales
Jamaica - Gabon
Friday, April 13, 2012
FIFA Ranking: May 2012 probable ranking
Next update: 4 May 2012.
FIFA will publish the ranking on 9 May.
Only 6 matches left before the deadline.
Probable results computed using the Elo Ratings. Here's the list of results:
Before posting comments like: "Hey my team actually beat the other team! It's a mistake!" please read the previous paragraph again and look when these results were posted (Yes, before the matches actually took place!) ;)
1 - First team wins
X - Draw
2 - Second team wins
15/Apr Egypt - Mauritania 1 (Friendly)
17/Apr United Arab Emirates - Iran 2 (Friendly)
17/Apr Egypt - Iraq 1 (Friendly)
25/Apr Guatemala - Paraguay 2 (Friendly)
28/Apr Malaysia - Sri Lanka 1 (Friendly)
02/May Iran - Mozambique 1 (Friendly)
Team - Minimum points - Maximum points
For the other 198 teams the May points are already set.
Argentina will climb 1 spot to 9th, with Denmark dropping to 10th.
Probable May 2012 rank - Team - Probable May 2012 points - +/- Ranking - +/- Points
FIFA will publish the ranking on 9 May.
Only 6 matches left before the deadline.
Probable results computed using the Elo Ratings. Here's the list of results:
Before posting comments like: "Hey my team actually beat the other team! It's a mistake!" please read the previous paragraph again and look when these results were posted (Yes, before the matches actually took place!) ;)
1 - First team wins
X - Draw
2 - Second team wins
15/Apr Egypt - Mauritania 1 (Friendly)
17/Apr United Arab Emirates - Iran 2 (Friendly)
17/Apr Egypt - Iraq 1 (Friendly)
25/Apr Guatemala - Paraguay 2 (Friendly)
28/Apr Malaysia - Sri Lanka 1 (Friendly)
02/May Iran - Mozambique 1 (Friendly)
Team - Minimum points - Maximum points
| Paraguay | 786 | 801 |
| Egypt | 539 | 578 |
| Iran | 534 | 568 |
| Iraq | 468 | 493 |
| Guatemala | 396 | 431 |
| Mozambique | 300 | 348 |
| United Arab Emirates | 270 | 298 |
| Malaysia | 141 | 153 |
| Sri Lanka | 74 | 95 |
| Mauritania | 4 | 79 |
For the other 198 teams the May points are already set.
Argentina will climb 1 spot to 9th, with Denmark dropping to 10th.
Probable May 2012 rank - Team - Probable May 2012 points - +/- Ranking - +/- Points
| 1 | Spain | 1442 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Germany | 1345 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Uruguay | 1309 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Netherlands | 1207 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Portugal | 1190 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Brazil | 1165 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | England | 1132 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Croatia | 1114 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Argentina | 1076 | 1 | 10 |
| 10 | Denmark | 1069 | -1 | 0 |
| 11 | Russia | 1049 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Italy | 1041 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Chile | 968 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Greece | 961 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Côte d'Ivoire | 951 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | France | 938 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Sweden | 931 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Republic of Ireland | 891 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Switzerland | 891 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Mexico | 867 | 0 | -1 |
| 21 | Australia | 862 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Ghana | 816 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Colombia | 812 | 0 | -3 |
| 24 | Norway | 805 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Paraguay | 801 | 0 | -2 |
| 26 | Czech Republic | 798 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Bosnia-Herzegovina | 792 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Slovenia | 781 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | USA | 779 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Japan | 753 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Korea Republic | 746 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Serbia | 725 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Turkey | 720 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Slovakia | 716 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | Hungary | 692 | 1 | 0 |
| 36 | Peru | 691 | -2 | -28 |
| 37 | Ecuador | 679 | 0 | 6 |
| 38 | Algeria | 667 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Mali | 656 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Zambia | 640 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Wales | 635 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Gabon | 621 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | Venezuela | 613 | 0 | -4 |
| 44 | Belgium | 604 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Romania | 603 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | Libya | 602 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Armenia | 598 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | Scotland | 596 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | El Salvador | 591 | 0 | 2 |
| 50 | Ukraine | 589 | -1 | 0 |
| 51 | Egypt | 578 | 4 | 12 |
| 52 | Jamaica | 576 | 4 | 11 |
| 53 | Panama | 575 | -1 | 0 |
| 54 | Estonia | 574 | -1 | 0 |
| 55 | Montenegro | 569 | -1 | 0 |
| 56 | Iran | 568 | -5 | -10 |
| 57 | Tunisia | 563 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 | Israel | 558 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 | Costa Rica | 549 | 0 | -8 |
| 60 | Morocco | 548 | 2 | 0 |
| 61 | Sierra Leone | 542 | 2 | 9 |
| 62 | Honduras | 540 | -1 | -10 |
| 63 | Nigeria | 537 | -3 | -17 |
| 64 | Cameroon | 526 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | Poland | 514 | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | China PR | 508 | 0 | 5 |
| 67 | South Africa | 500 | 4 | 18 |
| 68 | Guinea | 499 | -1 | 0 |
| 69 | Belarus | 494 | -1 | 0 |
| 70 | Uzbekistan | 493 | -1 | 0 |
| 71 | Haiti | 486 | 1 | 9 |
| 72 | Austria | 475 | 1 | 0 |
| 73 | Iraq | 468 | -3 | -20 |
| 74 | Latvia | 465 | 0 | 0 |
| 75 | Canada | 450 | 0 | 0 |
| 76 | Cape Verde Islands | 449 | 0 | 0 |
| 77 | Senegal | 448 | 0 | 0 |
| 78 | Angola | 440 | 0 | 0 |
| 79 | Finland | 430 | 0 | 0 |
| 80 | Burkina Faso | 426 | 0 | 0 |
| 81 | Jordan | 420 | 0 | 0 |
| 82 | Trinidad and Tobago | 419 | 1 | 2 |
| 83 | Guatemala | 396 | -1 | -23 |
| 84 | Albania | 384 | 0 | 0 |
| 84 | Qatar | 384 | 0 | 0 |
| 86 | Korea DPR | 376 | 0 | -1 |
| 86 | Kuwait | 376 | 1 | 0 |
| 88 | Togo | 374 | 0 | 0 |
| 89 | Lithuania | 373 | 0 | 0 |
| 89 | Saudi Arabia | 373 | 0 | 0 |
| 91 | Congo | 366 | 0 | 0 |
| 92 | Oman | 363 | 1 | 2 |
| 93 | Uganda | 362 | -1 | 0 |
| 94 | Bahrain | 361 | -1 | 0 |
| 95 | Georgia | 360 | 0 | 0 |
| 96 | Bulgaria | 354 | 0 | 0 |
| 97 | Vietnam | 347 | 0 | 0 |
| 98 | FYR Macedonia | 342 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | Guyana | 341 | 0 | 0 |
| 100 | Antigua and Barbuda | 338 | 0 | 0 |
| 100 | Northern Ireland | 338 | 0 | 0 |
| 102 | Malawi | 332 | 0 | 0 |
| 103 | Equatorial Guinea | 330 | 0 | -1 |
| 104 | Zimbabwe | 328 | 0 | 0 |
| 105 | Rwanda | 327 | 0 | 0 |
| 106 | Botswana | 321 | 1 | 0 |
| 107 | Bermuda | 318 | 1 | 0 |
| 108 | Bolivia | 308 | 1 | 0 |
| 109 | Azerbaijan | 305 | 1 | 0 |
| 110 | Mozambique | 300 | -4 | -22 |
| 111 | St. Kitts and Nevis | 298 | 0 | 0 |
| 112 | Liberia | 296 | 0 | 3 |
| 113 | Gambia | 292 | 0 | 0 |
| 113 | Sudan | 292 | 0 | 0 |
| 115 | Chad | 289 | 0 | 0 |
| 116 | Sao Tome e Principe | 288 | 0 | 0 |
| 117 | Kenya | 285 | 0 | 0 |
| 118 | Faroe Islands | 284 | 0 | 0 |
| 119 | Luxembourg | 283 | 0 | 0 |
| 120 | Namibia | 281 | 1 | 0 |
| 121 | Niger | 274 | 2 | 0 |
| 122 | Central African Republic | 271 | 2 | 0 |
| 123 | United Arab Emirates | 270 | -2 | -11 |
| 124 | Benin | 269 | 1 | 0 |
| 124 | Congo DR | 269 | -5 | -14 |
| 126 | Syria | 268 | 0 | 0 |
| 127 | Burundi | 267 | 0 | 0 |
| 128 | Liechtenstein | 261 | 1 | 0 |
| 129 | Lebanon | 260 | -1 | -6 |
| 130 | New Zealand | 256 | 0 | 0 |
| 131 | Iceland | 255 | 0 | 0 |
| 131 | Tajikistan | 255 | 0 | 0 |
| 133 | Cyprus | 252 | 0 | 0 |
| 133 | Suriname | 252 | 0 | 0 |
| 135 | Dominican Republic | 247 | 0 | 0 |
| 136 | Cuba | 244 | 0 | 0 |
| 137 | Kazakhstan | 243 | 0 | 0 |
| 138 | Ethiopia | 236 | 0 | 0 |
| 138 | Puerto Rico | 236 | 0 | 0 |
| 140 | Belize | 235 | 0 | 0 |
| 141 | Thailand | 232 | 0 | 0 |
| 142 | Moldova | 222 | 0 | 0 |
| 143 | Grenada | 221 | 1 | 4 |
| 144 | Turkmenistan | 220 | -2 | -2 |
| 145 | Tanzania | 217 | 0 | 2 |
| 146 | Nicaragua | 211 | 0 | 0 |
| 147 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 191 | 0 | 0 |
| 148 | Philippines | 172 | 0 | -10 |
| 149 | Nepal | 164 | 0 | 0 |
| 150 | Malta | 161 | 0 | 0 |
| 151 | Indonesia | 159 | 0 | -1 |
| 152 | Bangladesh | 156 | 0 | 2 |
| 153 | Malaysia | 153 | 3 | 5 |
| 154 | Palestine | 151 | -1 | 0 |
| 155 | New Caledonia | 150 | -1 | 0 |
| 156 | Samoa | 149 | -1 | 0 |
| 157 | Yemen | 148 | -1 | 0 |
| 158 | Singapore | 145 | 0 | 0 |
| 159 | Curacao | 138 | 0 | 0 |
| 160 | Fiji | 133 | 0 | 0 |
| 161 | Bahamas | 132 | 0 | 0 |
| 161 | Hong Kong | 132 | 0 | 0 |
| 163 | Lesotho | 131 | 0 | 0 |
| 164 | India | 122 | 1 | 0 |
| 164 | Maldives | 122 | 0 | -8 |
| 166 | Madagascar | 121 | 0 | 0 |
| 167 | Aruba | 120 | 0 | 0 |
| 168 | Chinese Taipei | 117 | 1 | 0 |
| 169 | Guinea-Bissau | 116 | 1 | 0 |
| 170 | Afghanistan | 115 | -2 | -3 |
| 171 | Barbados | 106 | 0 | 0 |
| 172 | Vanuatu | 103 | 0 | 0 |
| 173 | Laos | 96 | 2 | 0 |
| 174 | Dominica | 95 | 2 | 0 |
| 175 | Cambodia | 94 | -2 | -7 |
| 175 | Myanmar | 94 | -2 | -7 |
| 177 | Mongolia | 88 | 0 | -2 |
| 177 | Tonga | 88 | 1 | 0 |
| 179 | Swaziland | 86 | 0 | 0 |
| 179 | Tahiti | 86 | 0 | 0 |
| 181 | Pakistan | 80 | 1 | 0 |
| 182 | US Virgin Islands | 78 | 1 | 0 |
| 183 | Solomon Islands | 75 | 1 | 0 |
| 184 | Sri Lanka | 74 | -3 | -8 |
| 185 | Cayman Islands | 72 | 0 | 0 |
| 186 | American Samoa | 61 | 0 | 0 |
| 187 | Comoros | 60 | 0 | 0 |
| 188 | St. Lucia | 52 | 0 | 0 |
| 189 | Seychelles | 47 | 0 | 0 |
| 190 | Eritrea | 45 | 0 | 0 |
| 191 | Somalia | 43 | 0 | 0 |
| 192 | Mauritius | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| 193 | Papua New Guinea | 34 | 0 | 0 |
| 194 | Guam | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 195 | Kyrgyzstan | 29 | 0 | 0 |
| 196 | Cook Islands | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 197 | Djibouti | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| 198 | Macau | 16 | 0 | -3 |
| 199 | British Virgin Islands | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 200 | Anguilla | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 201 | Bhutan | 4 | 0 | -2 |
| 201 | Brunei Darussalam | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 201 | Mauritania | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 204 | Timor-Leste | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 205 | Andorra | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 205 | Montserrat | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 205 | San Marino | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 205 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 0 | 0 | 0 |
A look at the flag chasers
In February, Estonia announced they will be playing against France in a friendly scheduled for 5 June. They will thus become the first ever team to have played all 52 fellow European footballing nations (see article on fifa.com).
OK, so Estonia will be the first. Who was close? Are there any other teams that have achieved this feat in other confederations? Well, except CONMEBOL teams since they meet each other in every World Cup qualification campaign. Which team has the highest number of opponents?
In Europe, there are three teams with only 2 UEFA opponents missing from their list
Russia (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro)
Romania (Kazakhstan and Malta)
Czech Republic (Georgia and Kazakhstan)
Here's the European top 10, with 7 teams tied for 10th place.
Opponents left to play against - Team
1 - Estonia
2 - Russia, Romania, Czech Republic
3 - Israel, Norway, Poland, Hungary, Germany
4 - Malta, Greece, Portugal, Wales, Bulgaria, Finland, Sweden
Asian Top 10
4 - China PR, Korea Republic
5 - Hong Kong, Thailand
6 - Bangladesh, Korea DPR, Iran, Singapore
7 - Sri Lanka, India, Kuwait
African Top 10
7 - Angola, Cameroon, Zambia
8 - Guinea
9 - Zimbabwe
10 - Gabon, Congo DR, Uganda, Senegal, Ghana, Tunisia
CONCACAF Top 10
4 - St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Haiti
5 - Cuba
6 - Trinidad and Tobago
8 - Puerto Rico, Curacao, Jamaica
9 - Grenada, Barbados
10 - St. Lucia, Bermuda, Suriname
In Oceania, 5 teams have met all their OFC neighbors: Cook Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Fiji.
American Samoa and Tonga have to play against New Zealand.
Papua New Guinea - against New Caledonia.
New Caledonia - against Samoa and Papua Guinea.
Samoa - against New Caledonia and New Zealand.
New Zealand - against Samoa, Tonga and American Samoa.
Most teams outside own confederation
Unsurprisingly, Brazil top the list with 73 non-CONMEBOL opponents.
Most opponents
Saudi Arabia are top - they have played against 106 FIFA members. Korea Republic have the same number of opponents, but 250 matches more than Saudi Arabia.
OK, so Estonia will be the first. Who was close? Are there any other teams that have achieved this feat in other confederations? Well, except CONMEBOL teams since they meet each other in every World Cup qualification campaign. Which team has the highest number of opponents?
In Europe, there are three teams with only 2 UEFA opponents missing from their list
Russia (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro)
Romania (Kazakhstan and Malta)
Czech Republic (Georgia and Kazakhstan)
Here's the European top 10, with 7 teams tied for 10th place.
Opponents left to play against - Team
1 - Estonia
2 - Russia, Romania, Czech Republic
3 - Israel, Norway, Poland, Hungary, Germany
4 - Malta, Greece, Portugal, Wales, Bulgaria, Finland, Sweden
Asian Top 10
4 - China PR, Korea Republic
5 - Hong Kong, Thailand
6 - Bangladesh, Korea DPR, Iran, Singapore
7 - Sri Lanka, India, Kuwait
African Top 10
7 - Angola, Cameroon, Zambia
8 - Guinea
9 - Zimbabwe
10 - Gabon, Congo DR, Uganda, Senegal, Ghana, Tunisia
CONCACAF Top 10
4 - St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Haiti
5 - Cuba
6 - Trinidad and Tobago
8 - Puerto Rico, Curacao, Jamaica
9 - Grenada, Barbados
10 - St. Lucia, Bermuda, Suriname
In Oceania, 5 teams have met all their OFC neighbors: Cook Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Fiji.
American Samoa and Tonga have to play against New Zealand.
Papua New Guinea - against New Caledonia.
New Caledonia - against Samoa and Papua Guinea.
Samoa - against New Caledonia and New Zealand.
New Zealand - against Samoa, Tonga and American Samoa.
Most teams outside own confederation
Unsurprisingly, Brazil top the list with 73 non-CONMEBOL opponents.
| Brazil | 73 |
| Saudi Arabia | 70 |
| USA | 67 |
| Mexico | 66 |
| Korea Republic | 65 |
| Chile | 64 |
| Japan | 63 |
| China PR | 62 |
| Egypt | 62 |
| Canada | 61 |
| Uruguay | 61 |
Most opponents
Saudi Arabia are top - they have played against 106 FIFA members. Korea Republic have the same number of opponents, but 250 matches more than Saudi Arabia.
| Saudi Arabia | 106 |
| Korea Republic | 106 |
| China PR | 103 |
| Egypt | 103 |
| Iran | 99 |
| Japan | 98 |
| Morocco | 96 |
| Tunisia | 95 |
| Sweden | 87 |
| Algeria | 86 |
| Norway | 86 |
2013 African Cup of Nations: Seeding, draw dates
CAF have announced yesterday the qualification criteria for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
It the same seeding system I expect they will use for the final draw. There are some errors in their ranking. They say in case of a tie, the tie-breaker will be the number of points gained in the three tournaments (3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a defeat).
Gabon should be above Nigeria (both have 14 points on the field, but Gabon have a better goal difference).
Morocco should be above Senegal (6 points vs. 2 points on the field).
Libya should be above Benin (4 points vs. 1 point on the field).
Mozambique should be above Togo (1 point vs. 0 points on the field).
South Africa should be above Namibia (2 points vs. 1 point on the field).
Official CAF ranking (pdf document).
The draw for the final qualification round will take place in the first week of July 2012.
The draw for the final tournament will take place on 26 October 2012.
It the same seeding system I expect they will use for the final draw. There are some errors in their ranking. They say in case of a tie, the tie-breaker will be the number of points gained in the three tournaments (3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a defeat).
Gabon should be above Nigeria (both have 14 points on the field, but Gabon have a better goal difference).
Morocco should be above Senegal (6 points vs. 2 points on the field).
Libya should be above Benin (4 points vs. 1 point on the field).
Mozambique should be above Togo (1 point vs. 0 points on the field).
South Africa should be above Namibia (2 points vs. 1 point on the field).
Official CAF ranking (pdf document).
The draw for the final qualification round will take place in the first week of July 2012.
The draw for the final tournament will take place on 26 October 2012.
Friday, April 6, 2012
FIFA Ranking: April 2012 final preview
FIFA will publish the ranking on April 11th.
Of the top 10 teams, only Spain don't move. Germany up to 2nd, Uruguay climb to 3rd, Netherlands drop to 4th. Italy out of the top 10, replaced by Denmark.
Best movers:
25 - Korea DPR
24 - Turkmenistan
14 - Tajikistan
Worst movers:
-21 - Georgia
-20 - Israel and Cuba
-14 - Cape Verde Islands
Best movers in the top 50:
9 - Libya and El Salvador
8 - Colombia and Romania
7 - Wales
Worst movers in the top 50:
-20 - Israel
-10 - Montenegro
-6 - Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Estonia
Japan return to 2nd in Asia, with Korea Republic dropping to third. Korea did peak at the right moment to be top seeded for the World Cup draw. China PR replace Uzbekistan in the Asian top 5.
Mali and Zambia switch places in the African top 5, with Mali climbing to 4th.
El Salvador climb to 3rd place in CONCACAF.
Colombia replace Paraguay in the CONMEBOL top 5.
New Caledonia up to 2nd in Oceania.
Germany up to 2nd and Portugal up to 4th in Europe, with Netherlands and England dropping one place each.
Four teams will improve their best ever ranking:
Uruguay (3rd - 4th in September 2011)
Libya (46th - 53rd in February 2012)
El Salvador (49th - 54th in February 2012)
Philippines (148th - 149th in December 2010) (Thanks FilipinoFootball!)
American Samoa will return to their best ever ranking - 186th, first achieved in December 2011.
Three teams will return to their worst ever rankings:
India (165th - first happened in March 2007)
British Virgin Islands (199th - first happened in December 2011)
Brunei Darussalam (202nd - first happened in December 2011)
Eight teams will drop to new lows:
Bulgaria (96th - 88th in February 2012)
Iceland (131st - 124th in August 2011)
Cyprus (133rd - 129th in March 2012)
Thailand (141st - 139th in March 2012)
Singapore (158th - 152nd in November 2011)
Barbados (171st - 170th in March 2012)
Solomon Islands (184th - 182nd in April 2011)
Kyrgyzstan (195th - 192nd in February 2012)
April 2012 rank - Team - April 2012 points - +/- Ranking - +/- Points
Of the top 10 teams, only Spain don't move. Germany up to 2nd, Uruguay climb to 3rd, Netherlands drop to 4th. Italy out of the top 10, replaced by Denmark.
Best movers:
25 - Korea DPR
24 - Turkmenistan
14 - Tajikistan
Worst movers:
-21 - Georgia
-20 - Israel and Cuba
-14 - Cape Verde Islands
Best movers in the top 50:
9 - Libya and El Salvador
8 - Colombia and Romania
7 - Wales
Worst movers in the top 50:
-20 - Israel
-10 - Montenegro
-6 - Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Estonia
Japan return to 2nd in Asia, with Korea Republic dropping to third. Korea did peak at the right moment to be top seeded for the World Cup draw. China PR replace Uzbekistan in the Asian top 5.
Mali and Zambia switch places in the African top 5, with Mali climbing to 4th.
El Salvador climb to 3rd place in CONCACAF.
Colombia replace Paraguay in the CONMEBOL top 5.
New Caledonia up to 2nd in Oceania.
Germany up to 2nd and Portugal up to 4th in Europe, with Netherlands and England dropping one place each.
Four teams will improve their best ever ranking:
Uruguay (3rd - 4th in September 2011)
Libya (46th - 53rd in February 2012)
El Salvador (49th - 54th in February 2012)
Philippines (148th - 149th in December 2010) (Thanks FilipinoFootball!)
American Samoa will return to their best ever ranking - 186th, first achieved in December 2011.
Three teams will return to their worst ever rankings:
India (165th - first happened in March 2007)
British Virgin Islands (199th - first happened in December 2011)
Brunei Darussalam (202nd - first happened in December 2011)
Eight teams will drop to new lows:
Bulgaria (96th - 88th in February 2012)
Iceland (131st - 124th in August 2011)
Cyprus (133rd - 129th in March 2012)
Thailand (141st - 139th in March 2012)
Singapore (158th - 152nd in November 2011)
Barbados (171st - 170th in March 2012)
Solomon Islands (184th - 182nd in April 2011)
Kyrgyzstan (195th - 192nd in February 2012)
April 2012 rank - Team - April 2012 points - +/- Ranking - +/- Points
| 1 | Spain | 1442 | 0 | -119 |
| 2 | Germany | 1345 | 1 | 13 |
| 3 | Uruguay | 1309 | 1 | 20 |
| 4 | Netherlands | 1207 | -2 | -172 |
| 5 | Portugal | 1190 | 2 | 84 |
| 6 | Brazil | 1165 | -1 | 8 |
| 7 | England | 1132 | -1 | 11 |
| 8 | Croatia | 1114 | 2 | 65 |
| 9 | Denmark | 1069 | 2 | 44 |
| 10 | Argentina | 1066 | -2 | -36 |
| 11 | Russia | 1049 | 1 | 46 |
| 12 | Italy | 1041 | -3 | -21 |
| 13 | Chile | 967 | 1 | 17 |
| 14 | Greece | 961 | -1 | 8 |
| 15 | Côte d'Ivoire | 951 | 0 | 7 |
| 16 | France | 938 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Sweden | 931 | 0 | 5 |
| 18 | Republic of Ireland | 891 | 1 | 19 |
| 18 | Switzerland | 891 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Mexico | 868 | 2 | 19 |
| 21 | Australia | 862 | -1 | -6 |
| 22 | Ghana | 816 | 1 | -4 |
| 23 | Colombia | 815 | 8 | 67 |
| 24 | Norway | 805 | 0 | 8 |
| 25 | Paraguay | 803 | 0 | 12 |
| 26 | Czech Republic | 798 | 3 | 36 |
| 27 | Bosnia-Herzegovina | 792 | -6 | -58 |
| 28 | Slovenia | 781 | 0 | 16 |
| 29 | USA | 779 | -2 | 7 |
| 30 | Japan | 753 | 3 | 13 |
| 31 | Korea Republic | 746 | -1 | -5 |
| 32 | Serbia | 725 | -6 | -54 |
| 33 | Turkey | 720 | -1 | -27 |
| 34 | Peru | 719 | 0 | -1 |
| 35 | Slovakia | 716 | 0 | 6 |
| 36 | Hungary | 692 | 1 | 34 |
| 37 | Ecuador | 673 | 2 | 25 |
| 38 | Algeria | 667 | -3 | -43 |
| 39 | Mali | 656 | 3 | 27 |
| 40 | Zambia | 640 | 1 | 10 |
| 41 | Wales | 635 | 7 | 55 |
| 42 | Gabon | 621 | 1 | 4 |
| 43 | Venezuela | 617 | 3 | 24 |
| 44 | Belgium | 604 | -4 | -38 |
| 45 | Romania | 603 | 8 | 30 |
| 46 | Libya | 602 | 9 | 36 |
| 47 | Armenia | 598 | -3 | -3 |
| 48 | Scotland | 596 | 3 | 22 |
| 49 | El Salvador | 589 | 9 | 35 |
| 49 | Ukraine | 589 | 0 | 11 |
| 51 | Iran | 578 | 0 | 4 |
| 52 | Panama | 575 | -2 | -1 |
| 53 | Estonia | 574 | -6 | -11 |
| 54 | Montenegro | 569 | -10 | -32 |
| 55 | Egypt | 566 | 9 | 36 |
| 56 | Jamaica | 565 | -2 | -6 |
| 57 | Tunisia | 563 | -1 | -1 |
| 58 | Israel | 558 | -20 | -93 |
| 59 | Costa Rica | 557 | 0 | 7 |
| 60 | Nigeria | 554 | -3 | -3 |
| 61 | Honduras | 550 | 2 | 17 |
| 62 | Morocco | 548 | -1 | 3 |
| 63 | Sierra Leone | 533 | 10 | 68 |
| 64 | Cameroon | 526 | 2 | 21 |
| 65 | Poland | 514 | 10 | 53 |
| 66 | China PR | 503 | 2 | 8 |
| 67 | Guinea | 499 | -2 | -10 |
| 68 | Belarus | 494 | 1 | 4 |
| 69 | Uzbekistan | 493 | -2 | -9 |
| 70 | Iraq | 488 | 6 | 28 |
| 71 | South Africa | 482 | -11 | -67 |
| 72 | Haiti | 477 | 0 | 8 |
| 73 | Austria | 475 | -2 | 3 |
| 74 | Latvia | 465 | 4 | 21 |
| 75 | Canada | 450 | 4 | 7 |
| 76 | Cape Verde Islands | 449 | -14 | -93 |
| 77 | Senegal | 448 | -7 | -34 |
| 78 | Angola | 440 | 3 | 16 |
| 79 | Finland | 430 | 5 | 18 |
| 80 | Burkina Faso | 426 | -3 | -25 |
| 81 | Jordan | 420 | 2 | 0 |
| 82 | Guatemala | 419 | 4 | 15 |
| 83 | Trinidad and Tobago | 417 | -1 | -6 |
| 84 | Albania | 384 | -4 | -48 |
| 84 | Qatar | 384 | 4 | -4 |
| 86 | Korea DPR | 377 | 25 | 78 |
| 87 | Kuwait | 376 | 7 | 8 |
| 88 | Togo | 374 | 9 | 25 |
| 89 | Lithuania | 373 | 2 | -10 |
| 89 | Saudi Arabia | 373 | -1 | -15 |
| 91 | Congo | 366 | 10 | 35 |
| 92 | Uganda | 362 | -4 | -26 |
| 93 | Bahrain | 361 | 0 | -12 |
| 93 | Oman | 361 | -1 | -20 |
| 95 | Georgia | 360 | -21 | -102 |
| 96 | Bulgaria | 354 | -11 | -52 |
| 97 | Vietnam | 347 | 1 | 0 |
| 98 | FYR Macedonia | 342 | 4 | 14 |
| 99 | Guyana | 341 | 0 | 0 |
| 100 | Antigua and Barbuda | 338 | -5 | -22 |
| 100 | Northern Ireland | 338 | -13 | -62 |
| 102 | Malawi | 332 | -6 | -22 |
| 103 | Equatorial Guinea | 331 | 5 | 26 |
| 104 | Zimbabwe | 328 | 2 | 21 |
| 105 | Rwanda | 327 | 0 | 11 |
| 106 | Mozambique | 322 | -2 | 3 |
| 107 | Botswana | 321 | -7 | -17 |
| 108 | Bermuda | 318 | -5 | -3 |
| 109 | Bolivia | 308 | -3 | 1 |
| 110 | Azerbaijan | 305 | 6 | 20 |
| 111 | St. Kitts and Nevis | 298 | -2 | -3 |
| 112 | Liberia | 293 | 13 | 25 |
| 113 | Gambia | 292 | 10 | 21 |
| 113 | Sudan | 292 | -3 | -8 |
| 115 | Chad | 289 | -3 | -4 |
| 116 | Sao Tome e Principe | 288 | -1 | 0 |
| 117 | Kenya | 285 | -4 | -7 |
| 118 | Faroe Islands | 284 | -2 | -1 |
| 119 | Congo DR | 283 | 1 | 2 |
| 119 | Luxembourg | 283 | 8 | 19 |
| 121 | Namibia | 281 | 11 | 31 |
| 121 | United Arab Emirates | 281 | 1 | 6 |
| 123 | Niger | 274 | -9 | -15 |
| 124 | Central African Republic | 271 | 7 | 20 |
| 125 | Benin | 269 | 2 | 5 |
| 126 | Syria | 268 | 0 | 1 |
| 127 | Burundi | 267 | 5 | 17 |
| 128 | Lebanon | 266 | -4 | -4 |
| 129 | Liechtenstein | 261 | 8 | 25 |
| 130 | New Zealand | 256 | -11 | -28 |
| 131 | Iceland | 255 | -10 | -22 |
| 131 | Tajikistan | 255 | 14 | 45 |
| 133 | Cyprus | 252 | -4 | -10 |
| 133 | Suriname | 252 | -3 | -2 |
| 135 | Dominican Republic | 247 | 0 | 0 |
| 136 | Cuba | 244 | -20 | -41 |
| 137 | Kazakhstan | 243 | 5 | 19 |
| 138 | Ethiopia | 236 | 2 | 5 |
| 138 | Puerto Rico | 236 | -4 | -13 |
| 140 | Belize | 235 | -4 | -3 |
| 141 | Thailand | 232 | -2 | -3 |
| 142 | Moldova | 222 | 1 | 6 |
| 142 | Turkmenistan | 222 | 24 | 108 |
| 144 | Grenada | 217 | -7 | -19 |
| 145 | Tanzania | 215 | -4 | -13 |
| 146 | Nicaragua | 211 | -2 | 0 |
| 147 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 191 | -1 | 3 |
| 148 | Philippines | 182 | 8 | 46 |
| 149 | Nepal | 164 | 4 | 20 |
| 150 | Malta | 161 | -2 | 9 |
| 151 | Indonesia | 160 | -4 | 0 |
| 152 | Bangladesh | 154 | 12 | 34 |
| 153 | Palestine | 151 | 7 | 20 |
| 154 | New Caledonia | 150 | 8 | 24 |
| 155 | Samoa | 149 | -5 | 0 |
| 156 | Malaysia | 148 | -4 | 0 |
| 156 | Yemen | 148 | -8 | -4 |
| 158 | Singapore | 145 | -8 | -4 |
| 159 | Curacao | 138 | -5 | -4 |
| 160 | Fiji | 133 | -3 | 0 |
| 161 | Bahamas | 132 | -6 | -9 |
| 161 | Hong Kong | 132 | -3 | 0 |
| 163 | Lesotho | 131 | -3 | 0 |
| 164 | Maldives | 130 | 10 | 35 |
| 165 | India | 122 | -7 | -10 |
| 166 | Madagascar | 121 | -3 | -2 |
| 167 | Aruba | 120 | -3 | 0 |
| 168 | Afghanistan | 118 | 10 | 33 |
| 169 | Chinese Taipei | 117 | -1 | 7 |
| 170 | Guinea-Bissau | 116 | -2 | 6 |
| 171 | Barbados | 106 | -1 | -1 |
| 172 | Vanuatu | 103 | 0 | 0 |
| 173 | Cambodia | 101 | -7 | -13 |
| 173 | Myanmar | 101 | 4 | 15 |
| 175 | Laos | 96 | -2 | 0 |
| 176 | Dominica | 95 | -2 | 0 |
| 177 | Mongolia | 90 | -6 | -16 |
| 178 | Tonga | 88 | -2 | 0 |
| 179 | Swaziland | 86 | 0 | 3 |
| 179 | Tahiti | 86 | 4 | 13 |
| 181 | Sri Lanka | 82 | 5 | 20 |
| 182 | Pakistan | 80 | -1 | 4 |
| 183 | US Virgin Islands | 78 | -3 | -4 |
| 184 | Solomon Islands | 75 | -2 | 0 |
| 185 | Cayman Islands | 72 | -1 | 0 |
| 186 | American Samoa | 61 | 1 | 0 |
| 187 | Comoros | 60 | 1 | 5 |
| 188 | St. Lucia | 52 | -3 | -13 |
| 189 | Seychelles | 47 | 0 | 0 |
| 190 | Eritrea | 45 | 0 | 0 |
| 191 | Somalia | 43 | 0 | 0 |
| 192 | Mauritius | 37 | 3 | 5 |
| 193 | Papua New Guinea | 34 | 1 | 0 |
| 194 | Guam | 32 | -1 | -4 |
| 195 | Kyrgyzstan | 29 | -3 | -10 |
| 196 | Cook Islands | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 197 | Djibouti | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| 198 | Macau | 19 | 1 | -1 |
| 199 | British Virgin Islands | 13 | -2 | -10 |
| 200 | Anguilla | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 201 | Bhutan | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 202 | Brunei Darussalam | 4 | -1 | -2 |
| 202 | Mauritania | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 204 | Timor-Leste | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 205 | Andorra | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 205 | Montserrat | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 205 | San Marino | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 205 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 0 | 0 | 0 |