August 2013: Recommended friendly impact

The best opponent to play against is determined using a combination of Elo ratings and FIFA rankings. Let's look at the August FIFA ranking and we'll see the impact of one extra friendly. The difference in ranking is computed assuming all things remain equal, except the points of the given team.

The most popular opponent for the month of July were Equatorial Guinea and Albania - each of them best opponent for 72 teams.

5 of the top 20 teams (England +11, Uruguay +8, Germany +6, Portugal +5, Mexico +1) would have gained points, but only England would have climbed in the ranking - 2 spots by defeating Albania.

Teams from the top 100 that would have gained the most (ranking-wise):

18 - Benin
7 - Lithuania
6 - Korea Republic and Georgia

Albania were the recommended team for Korea Republic, while Equatorial Guinea were the team of choice for the other three.

Teams from the top 50 that would have gained the most (ranking-wise):

6 - Korea Republic
4 - Wales and Paraguay
3 -  Venezuela and Republic of Ireland

Albania were the recommended opponent for all 5 teams.

August Ranking - Team - Recommended opponent - Point difference - Rank difference

1	Spain	Greece	-7	0
2	Germany	Greece	6	0
3	Colombia	Montenegro	-25	-1
4	Argentina	Greece	-6	0
5	Netherlands	Greece	-5	0
6	Italy	Montenegro	-1	0
7	Portugal	Montenegro	5	0
8	Croatia	Albania	-7	0
9	Brazil	Greece	-3	0
10	Belgium	Albania	-24	0
11	Greece	Albania	-6	0
12	Uruguay	Albania	8	0
13	Bosnia-Herzegovina	Albania	-16	-2
14	England	Albania	11	2
15	Switzerland	Montenegro	-8	0
16	Russia	Albania	-1	0
17	Ecuador	Albania	-8	0
18	Côte d'Ivoire	Albania	-2	0
19	USA	Albania	-8	0
20	Mexico	Albania	1	0
21	Chile	Albania	7	0
22	Peru	Albania	-2	0
23	France	Albania	11	0
24	Ghana	Albania	-14	0
25	Norway	Montenegro	11	0
26	Czech Republic	Albania	11	1
27	Denmark	Albania	14	2
28	Montenegro	Albania	3	0
28	Ukraine	Albania	0	0
30	Sweden	Albania	15	2
31	Hungary	Albania	9	0
32	Mali	Albania	5	0
33	Romania	Albania	4	1
34	Algeria	Albania	5	2
35	Nigeria	Albania	1	0
36	Cape Verde Islands	Albania	-1	0
37	Japan	Albania	10	2
38	Albania	Equatorial Guinea	-9	-1
39	Venezuela	Albania	8	3
40	Panama	Albania	3	1
41	Serbia	Albania	12	1
42	Costa Rica	Albania	-8	1
43	Honduras	Albania	-7	-2
44	Republic of Ireland	Albania	17	3
45	Slovenia	Equatorial Guinea	9	2
46	Australia	Albania	0	0
46	Wales	Albania	20	4
48	Burkina Faso	Albania	1	0
49	Paraguay	Albania	23	4
50	Scotland	Albania	16	2
51	Cameroon	Albania	-10	-4
52	Iran	Albania	-4	0
53	Bulgaria	Albania	6	1
53	Tunisia	Albania	9	2
55	Austria	Albania	14	4
56	Korea Republic	Albania	18	6
57	New Zealand	Albania	-19	-2
58	Turkey	Albania	24	5
59	Uzbekistan	Albania	10	1
60	Zambia	Albania	2	0
61	Egypt	Albania	20	1
62	Slovakia	Albania	24	3
63	Israel	Albania	14	3
64	Bolivia	Albania	-7	-2
65	Finland	Albania	16	5
66	Armenia	Equatorial Guinea	13	5
67	South Africa	Albania	9	3
68	Guinea	Albania	15	5
69	Libya	Albania	5	0
70	Iceland	Equatorial Guinea	-1	0
71	Jordan	Albania	10	1
72	Poland	Albania	21	2
73	Belarus	Albania	18	3
74	Haiti	Equatorial Guinea	4	0
75	Morocco	Albania	14	2
76	Jamaica	Albania	0	0
77	Uganda	Albania	-2	0
78	Senegal	Albania	9	0
78	Trinidad and Tobago	Equatorial Guinea	6	0
80	Sierra Leone	Dominican Republic	13	2
81	Gabon	Equatorial Guinea	16	3
82	Togo	Equatorial Guinea	4	1
83	El Salvador	Albania	3	0
84	United Arab Emirates	Albania	-2	0
85	Estonia	Equatorial Guinea	16	3
86	Dominican Republic	Equatorial Guinea	8	2
87	Congo DR	Equatorial Guinea	7	0
88	Central African Republic	Equatorial Guinea	32	4
89	FYR Macedonia	Equatorial Guinea	10	1
90	Cuba	Equatorial Guinea	2	0
91	Canada	Albania	5	1
92	Congo	Equatorial Guinea	18	4
93	Guatemala	Equatorial Guinea	9	2
93	New Caledonia	Equatorial Guinea	9	2
95	China PR	Albania	9	2
95	Oman	Albania	11	2
97	Georgia	Equatorial Guinea	19	6
98	Angola	Equatorial Guinea	13	5
99	Equatorial Guinea	Dominican Republic	16	1
100	Suriname	Equatorial Guinea	20	2
101	Botswana	Equatorial Guinea	12	2
102	Ethiopia	Equatorial Guinea	8	3
103	Liberia	Equatorial Guinea	13	4
104	Iraq	Albania	15	3
105	Niger	Equatorial Guinea	15	4
106	Lithuania	Equatorial Guinea	25	7
107	Saudi Arabia	Equatorial Guinea	1	1
108	Mozambique	Equatorial Guinea	12	4
109	Northern Ireland	Equatorial Guinea	27	6
110	Korea DPR	Albania	17	5
111	Qatar	Equatorial Guinea	11	4
112	Kuwait	Albania	7	3
113	Benin	Equatorial Guinea	68	18
114	Tajikistan	Equatorial Guinea	27	11
115	Azerbaijan	Equatorial Guinea	21	9
116	Zimbabwe	Equatorial Guinea	17	7
117	Bahrain	Equatorial Guinea	10	1
118	Malawi	Equatorial Guinea	18	4
119	Latvia	Equatorial Guinea	28	10
120	Lebanon	Equatorial Guinea	12	3
121	Antigua and Barbuda	Equatorial Guinea	29	7
122	Grenada	Equatorial Guinea	70	19
123	Cyprus	Equatorial Guinea	25	4
123	Moldova	Equatorial Guinea	21	3
125	Turkmenistan	Equatorial Guinea	68	20
126	Burundi	Equatorial Guinea	26	6
127	Guyana	Equatorial Guinea	23	6
128	Tanzania	Equatorial Guinea	14	5
129	Kenya	Equatorial Guinea	14	6
130	Puerto Rico	Bhutan	26	8
131	Namibia	Equatorial Guinea	19	8
131	Rwanda	Equatorial Guinea	20	8
133	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	Suriname	9	4
134	Malta	Equatorial Guinea	24	11
135	Kyrgyzstan	Suriname	4	0
135	Sudan	Equatorial Guinea	18	6
137	Thailand	Equatorial Guinea	17	6
138	St. Kitts and Nevis	Suriname	48	16
139	Afghanistan	American Samoa	25	6
140	Luxembourg	Suriname	17	3
141	Philippines	Equatorial Guinea	13	3
142	St. Lucia	American Samoa	-8	-1
143	Belize	Suriname	14	5
144	Hong Kong	Equatorial Guinea	22	0
145	India	Suriname	13	1
146	Barbados	Suriname	16	2
147	Syria	Albania	31	4
148	Liechtenstein	Equatorial Guinea	27	4
149	Kazakhstan	Equatorial Guinea	33	6
150	Palestine	Equatorial Guinea	21	6
151	Mauritania	Equatorial Guinea	31	7
152	Solomon Islands	Equatorial Guinea	36	8
153	Maldives	Suriname	25	7
154	Tahiti	Equatorial Guinea	30	9
155	Singapore	Equatorial Guinea	15	3
156	Bermuda	Equatorial Guinea	69	15
156	Vietnam	Equatorial Guinea	25	5
158	Bangladesh	American Samoa	8	3
158	Nicaragua	Suriname	48	14
160	Chad	Equatorial Guinea	68	16
160	Lesotho	Suriname	12	6
162	Malaysia	Equatorial Guinea	20	10
163	Dominica	American Samoa	26	10
163	Gambia	Equatorial Guinea	69	19
165	Myanmar	American Samoa	2	0
165	Sao Tome e Principe	Bhutan	26	10
167	Aruba	American Samoa	26	11
167	Pakistan	American Samoa	5	0
169	Indonesia	Equatorial Guinea	26	6
170	Nepal	American Samoa	11	1
170	Sri Lanka	American Samoa	26	5
172	Laos	American Samoa	4	0
173	Yemen	Equatorial Guinea	29	4
174	Mauritius	American Samoa	9	2
175	Faroe Islands	Equatorial Guinea	47	12
176	Chinese Taipei	American Samoa	9	4
177	Guam	American Samoa	7	1
178	Vanuatu	Equatorial Guinea	68	18
179	Montserrat	American Samoa	26	7
180	Swaziland	Bhutan	10	3
181	Curacao	American Samoa	26	9
182	Guinea-Bissau	Equatorial Guinea	69	19
183	Brunei Darussalam	American Samoa	12	3
183	Timor-Leste	American Samoa	25	7
185	Fiji	Equatorial Guinea	68	18
185	Madagascar	Suriname	47	15
187	Mongolia	American Samoa	25	10
188	Samoa	American Samoa	26	11
189	Tonga	American Samoa	25	11
190	US Virgin Islands	American Samoa	26	12
191	Bahamas	American Samoa	26	12
192	Cayman Islands	American Samoa	26	10
192	Comoros	American Samoa	26	10
194	American Samoa	Bhutan	26	11
195	Eritrea	Suriname	48	18
195	Seychelles	American Samoa	25	8
197	Papua New Guinea	Suriname	47	19
198	British Virgin Islands	American Samoa	26	10
199	Cambodia	American Samoa	18	7
200	Somalia	American Samoa	26	9
201	Macau	American Samoa	17	7
202	Djibouti	American Samoa	25	10
203	South Sudan	Equatorial Guinea	69	27
204	Cook Islands	American Samoa	25	12
205	Andorra	American Samoa	15	8
206	Anguilla	American Samoa	26	11
207	Bhutan	American Samoa	26	12
207	San Marino	American Samoa	15	7
207	Turks and Caicos Islands	American Samoa	26	12

---

About me:

Christian, husband, father x 3, programmer, Romanian. Started the blog in March 2007. Quit in April 2018. You can find me on LinkedIn.