Up, up and away!

No, this is not a Superman post. Haven't seen it yet and probably won't for a while. I am referring to the new FIFA rankings.

I mentioned a little while ago that FIFA had made an effort to streamline their ranking calculations. They have made a lot of minor tweaks, which don't warrant all that much discussion, but one of the major adjustments is that the rankings are now no longer based on the past eight years but only the past four.

With that in mind, and taking into account our showing in the finals this year Australia has jumped 9 places and we now sit at number 33. I know, it is a little strange seeing Australia anywhere but the top five. Hell, we've got to start somewhere.

Others who have benefited from the shakedown are Italy (though winning the World Cup helped a little), Ghana, Guinea and Equatorial Guinea, who jumped an astonishing 59 spots.

If Africa are up Asia are most definitely down. South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia all dropped significantly. Japan, after a horrid tournament plummeted from 18 to 49 (lower than Australia was when we entered). This of course means that when we move into the Asian Zone we enter as the highest ranking team.

Finally, of course, we have to thank FIFA for restoring order and moving USA out of the top 5. They still sit in the top twenty, which is reasonable, but it was ridiculous to see them above teams like England, France and Germany. (Look at me, all traditional all of a sudden!)

If you haven't yet checked out FIFA's Interactive World Map then click on the pic above. It is most informative.

Tags: football, soccer, FIFA