Weekly Rankings 10/12 - Germany Tops International Ranks; Netherlands Disappoints

Rankings

1. Germany
2. Chile
3. Argentina
4. Spain
5. Belgium
6. France
7. Portugal
8. Colombia
9. Austria
10. Brazil
11. Italy
12. Uruguay
13. England
14. Poland
15. Côte d'Ivoire
16. Wales
17. Iceland
18. Croatia
19. Ghana
20. Netherlands

Terms:

AFC – Asian soccer federation

CAF – African soccer federation

CONCACAF – North American soccer federation

CONMEBOL – South American soccer federation

UEFA – European soccer federation

News:

Let me first mention that FIFA’s actual “rankings” are ridiculous (perhaps a good representative of the organization itself). To summarize, they don’t take into account teams who are hosting major tournaments, and place way too much emphasis on meaningless qualifying games. If you’re looking at the official rankings and wondering why Wales is 8th and France is 22nd, there’s your answer..  No team from CONCACAF makes my rankings. The United States used to be worthy, but their Gold Cup performance was just plain awful. You could see the loss to Mexico coming – the team doesn’t deserve a place in the Confederations Cup, and you aren’t a top-20 team if you lose to Jamaica in a big game. Mexico is still a mess, despite the win. Costa Rica is the only other possible candidate – they too were poor in the Gold Cup. Years of corruption in the FIFA hierarchy (i.e. Jack Warner) has made headlines, but its effect on stunting the growth of CONCACAF is clear.. Not willing to give any team from AFC a spot either. Australia and Japan have been the best two teams in the region for quite some time, but neither made any kind of dent at the World Cup last year. South Korea also failed to make an impact, and with Iran rounding out the region’s qualifiers, the results were four last-place finishes for AFC.  It’s an area lacking in star power and depth. Asia has some of the worst teams in the world despite having massive populations, as countries like India and China are pathetic on the field. There is the most room for growth in AFC, but it hasn’t even begun its liftoff yet.

European qualifiers are nearly concluded, with only tomorrow’s matches remaining. I wrote previously about how the expansion from a 16-team final tournament to 24 teams would raise the quality of play in qualifying matches (10/14: New European Qualifying Structure Paying Quick Dividends), and the results are quite staggering. Iceland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Albania and Slovakia all qualified for their first-ever tournament, while Austria also qualified for the first time (they were co-hosts in 2008, and were automatically in). There are six pots to rank teams from best to worst, and Wales came from Pot 4, while Iceland, Northern Ireland and Albania came from Pot 5. For reference, 2012 qualifying’s lowest-ranked team to qualify was Ireland, who was in Pot 3. The last team to qualify from the fourth pot or lower was Latvia in 2004, when there were only five pots. Granted, more spots in the finals means more opportunities for lower-ranked nations, but the expansion of the Euros has not only improved competitiveness, but allowed football to grow more quickly and gain more attention in smaller countries. The move has been a clear bright spot during a dark, turbulent period for UEFA and FIFA.

As for the rankings, World Champions Germany top the list, just as their counterparts Bayern Munich do for the club rankings. Last week’s loss to Ireland was a black mark, certainly, but given the busy club schedules at this time and the cushion Germany had in Group D, it was forgivable. There is no deeper team in the world – Germany’s “B” team would likely be a top-15 side. They will be favorites next summer to win Euro 2016.. Chile logged an impressive win over Brazil to take the initiative in CONMEBOL qualifying. This should not come as a surprise, despite it being Chile’s first win over their counterparts in fifteen years. Brazil will be better when Neymar returns; for now, they are barely a top-10 side.. Argentina played horribly in a 2-0 defeat to Ecuador and lost Sergio Aguero in the process. Sadly, at this point we must expect Aguero to get hurt because it seems to happen so frequently. He should miss over a month of play this time. Despite the poor performance, Argentina will be fine without him – it is a much greater concern for Manchester City.

Winners from Euro qualifiers? The United Kingdom and Ireland, which could see four of their five teams in France next summer. England, Northern Ireland and Wales are already qualified, while Ireland head to the playoffs. Only Scotland will certainly miss out, as a loss in Georgia proved a fateful blow to their campaign. Wales are certainly not as good as their lofty FIFA ranking, but Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey could take the team a long way. The Welsh could make some noise in France. England are good, of course, but not great. More of the same should be expected.. Austria have been one of the shining stars of qualifying. Seemingly packed with expectation year after year, the young Austrian side finally came through, winning Group G easily while dropping just two points in a home draw with Sweden. Full of crafty midfielders, Austria will be a sleeper candidate.. If there was a wins-above-replacement statistic for soccer, then Robert Lewandowski would certainly top it after his performances for Bayern and Poland this season. The man is simply unstoppable. His thirteen goals easily led all scorers in qualifying, and there appears to be no way to contain him. Poland’s biggest problem is that the final tournament is a whole year away. He can take what is an above-average team (at best) and make them elite..  Despite all the buzz around the newcomers for Euro 2016, we will likely be missing one continental power as the Netherlands completely fell apart in Group A. The Dutch lost to each of the three sides ahead of them away from home, including being swept by Iceland. This is a team that usually breezes through qualifying, and Group A was not particularly difficult. It will be stunning if the Dutch miss out on France, but thoroughly deserved.. Portugal lost their first match at home to Albania before rattling off seven straight mostly-unimpressive one-goal wins to win Group I. An always-talented but inconsistent side, Portugal will go to France with perhaps Cristiano Ronaldo’s last hope of winning the Euros. While Ronaldo rightly deserves praise as the best Portugese player of all-time, it is unlikely he is rewarded with a major trophy. Portugal has matched nearly every big win with a puzzling loss over the last fifteen years.

Games to Watch:

Tuesday: Euro 2016 qualifying concludes, with a number of deciding matches on tap for both automatic qualification to France and qualification to the playoff round. Tuesday’s games are highlighted by Turkey – Iceland, Cyprus – Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Italy – Norway. Turkey only need a point to qualify for the playoffs as they own the head-to-head with the Netherlands, who take on the Czechs needing a win and a ton of help from Iceland. Turkey should be heading to the playoffs, although they were beaten handily by Iceland in Reykjavik. Cyprus host Bosnia with possibly the unlikeliest bid to qualify for the playoffs. Two points behind their opponents entering the day, Cyprus need a win and an Israel loss or draw in Belgium. Cyprus, who are a mediocre side at best, won in Bosnia before going 2-5 over their next seven matches, only managing to beat minnows (me being kind) Andorra twice. But a win last week in Israel gives them an improbable hope of making the playoffs, as Bosnia has stumbled throughout the campaign and Israel just isn’t very good. I would expect Bosnia to take care of business – they are a much better side and playing better after a nightmare start. Lastly, Norway can qualify for their first major tournament since 2000 by beating Italy, as Croatia will almost certainly beat Malta. Only a win will do, as Croatia won the head-to-head between the two sides.

In South America, Uruguay and Colombia face off in Montevideo. Both teams won their first qualifier, with Uruguay winning in Bolivia and Colombia defeating Peru. Both sides play a physical style and have elite attacking players. Brazil and Argentina are still filled with stars but aren’t the most entertaining teams on the continent now-a-days – these two, along with Chile, are. Hopefully no bites or back-breaking tackles, though.

Saturday: Club football returns, and Tottenham – Liverpool will be the matchup to watch Saturday morning in England. Liverpool hired Jurgen Klopp to replace the struggling Brendan Rodgers, as even a draw in the Merseyside derby was not enough to save Rodgers from receiving the axe. Tottenham provides a solid first test for Klopp, who is one of the best coaches in the world. His last year at Dortmund is not indicative of his abilities, and with a talented but underperforming squad, he could steer the ship back on course quickly. He has already tempered expectations and will need to sign some of his own type of players, but Liverpool should rejoin the “let’s take them seriously” conversation much sooner with Klopp at the helm.

Sunday: Many of the top club teams are missing a marquee matchup this weekend, but there is some interesting action in Italy and Spain. In Italy, Napoli – Fiorentina and Inter Milan – Juventus should be very good matches, while Villarreal takes on Celta Vigo in Spain.  Napoli have won five of six matches (the only draw a puzzling 0-0 result against newly-promoted Carpi) while logging an extraordinary 18:1 goal differential. That run includes a 2-1 win over Juventus and a 4-0 spanking of AC Milan. The hottest team in Serie A, they take on leaders Fiorentina, who are six points ahead but still proving themselves as contenders. Inter are in second place, and will have their hands full with reigning but out-of-form champions Juventus. I’m expecting Juventus to start closing that gap on Inter and Fiorentina, and it should start on Sunday with wins for the “Old Lady” and Napoli.