FIFA World Rankings 2009



Apparently FIFA was unimpressed with the footballing performances of the Confederations Cup. If not, how would you explain June’s World Rankings? Brazil knocked Spain off the top spot - as much was to be expected as Brazil have quietly been by far the best team in the world for a few months now - but no one else impressed. The United States made a 2 spot leap to #12 for their Cinderella run, but then Greece made a 6 spot leap to #11 for doing precisely, err, nothing.

The same happened to South Africa, who only jumped two points, while Italy lost absolutely nothing. Which would lead one to believe that the committee looked at the Confederations Cup as an independent set of games, rather than one whole tournament. Perhaps falling in line with the theory that the Confederations Cup games really are meaningless.

Or maybe FIFA’s rankings are just rubbish.