Power Ranking Every World Football National Team

With the commencement of August, world football's offseason is coming to a close, shifting the focus from international competitions to the clubs.

It has been a busy summer for many of the world's most prestigious national teams.

Brazil's triumph over Spain in the Confederations Cup final made one wonder if there could be a shift in power come next year's World Cup.

The USA's Gold Cup victory was grand, but the story of that tournament was the complete collapse of Mexico, who twice lost to Panama and failed to reach the final for the first time since 2005.

While those two tournaments were the main attractions, many friendlies were sprinkled in as teams geared up for the final stretch of World Cup qualifying.

So where does every national team currently stand? And what can we expect to see from them with the World Cup less than a year away?

Here are the latest Wagner World Rankings for every international team.

Methodology

For those who haven't seen an installment of these rankings before, here is an explanation of how they are decided.

First, I compile the results of every international match on a four-year window. The reasoning behind this time frame is twofold: A longer period would not be indicative of the same team, while a shorter one would produce too small a sample size.

From there, every type of match is assigned a value. For example, a friendly is worth 100 points, while a World Cup group match is worth 360 points.

Every match is then graded and each team awarded a score, based on four factors:

• The result of the match
• The venue: home, away or on a neutral site
• The strength of opposition
• How recently the match was played (to add a weight of form)

Factoring in each team's missed opportunities (i.e. the World Cup final if they did not make it) and re-weighting for continental tournaments finishes the process, producing a final score out of 1,000 for each team.

This list ranks the nations based on that final score.

Now, let's get to the rankings.

209-181

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
209		Turks and Caicos Islands	0.16
208		Bhutan	1.22
207		South Sudan	5.43
206		San Marino	5.76
205		Djibouti	7.24
204		Montserrat	9.36
203		Anguilla	11.55
202		Somalia	13.83
201		Eritrea	14.36
200		Cook Islands	14.72
199		British Virgin Islands	14.96
198		Mauritania	16.83
197		Brunei	17.82
196		Tonga	20.37
195		Macau	21.18
194		Seychelles	21.60
193		American Samoa	21.75
192		Papua New Guinea	22.23
191		Comoros	26.70
190		Cayman Islands	26.73
189		Bahamas	26.91
188		Mauritius	27.11
187		Sao Tome e Principe	28.00
186		Samoa	28.74
185		Timor-Leste	28.86
184		US Virgin Islands	29.11
183		Madagascar	31.15
182		Mongolia	33.36
181		Aruba	34.27

Analysis

The bottom of the barrel has stayed fairly consistent since the last time these rankings were released in late June.

However, there were a few interesting moves.

One of the biggest climbers in the group were Mauritius, who made up seven spots from 195 to 188 thanks to a 4-0 victory against Seychelles in late July.

Despite that loss, Seychelles were still able to move up a few spots. While their points total fell, that of their nearest rivals also dropped due to inactivity and good results receding further into the past.

A team that fell a fair way in this group is Bahamas, who went down 15 spots from 174 to 189 in the past month-and-a-half.

Strangely enough, they are the only national team with a perfect record over the past four years, winning every match.

However, they have played just two matches, destroying the bottom-ranked Turks and Caicos Islands in consecutive World Cup qualifiers in 2011.

Inactivity since then has seen the effect these wins had on the rankings diminish quickly.

180-151

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
180		Swaziland	37.89
179		Dominica	38.94
178		Guinea-Bissau	39.33
177		Vanuatu	40.71
176		Guam	41.72
175		Fiji	41.93
174		Chad	45.56
173		Barbados	45.58
172		St Lucia	47.74
171		Cambodia	47.88
170		Gambia	50.27
169		Kyrgyzstan	52.70
168		Sri Lanka	54.07
167		Bermuda	61.26
166		Pakistan	62.26
165		Curacao	65.59
164		Lesotho	67.36
163		Afghanistan	68.45
162		Laos	69.39
161		Nicaragua	73.36
160		Chinese Taipei	73.49
159		Central African Republic	74.74
158		Grenada	78.59
157		Burundi	79.17
156		Suriname	79.80
155		St Kitts and Nevis	82.54
154		Nepal	83.09
153		Bangladesh	83.39
152		St Vincent and the Grenadines	85.28
151		Puerto Rico	85.48

Analysis

There were not many interesting developments in this group over the past month-and-a-half.

One of the more intriguing points is Nicaragua remaining at 161 following their record of losing every match at the 2009 Gold Cup with a failed attempt to qualify for the 2013 tournament. 

Meanwhile, the Central African Republic moved up 10 spots to 159.

Their ranking has been lower than one might expect due to the fact that they didn't play a match between 2007 and 2010.

Over the next year, CAR will surely rise as they continue to fill a four-year window.

150-121

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
150		Equatorial Guinea	85.70
149		Solomon Islands	88.23
148		Benin	89.01
147		Maldives	89.72
146		Liberia	90.18
145		Myanmar	90.88
144		Yemen	92.37
143		Sierra Leone	92.46
142		Hong Kong	92.83
141		Namibia	98.03
140		Turkmenistan	98.23
139		Belize	99.91
138		Rwanda	102.28
137		Cuba	109.11
136		Tajikistan	110.28
135		Dominican Republic	110.37
134		Faroe Islands	112.10
133		Zimbabwe	112.88
132		Niger	114.08
131		India	115.17
130		Guyana	116.17
129		Indonesia	117.95
128		Vietnam	118.88
127		Palestine	122.18
126		Malaysia	122.24
125		Mozambique	122.98
124		Kenya	123.72
123		Haiti	125.61
122		Guinea	125.75
121		Andorra	126.60

Analysis

A trio of teams are quickly rising in this group.

Thanks to victories over Malawi and Lesotho, Zimbabwe have moved up 13 spots to 133 despite losing to a very good Zambia team.

Haiti's nine-spot climb to 123 was well-deserved and long overdue.

The Haitians broke a seven-match winless streak with a 2-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in the Gold Cup. That losing run, it should be noted, consisted of tough matches against the likes of Italy and Spain.

However, Haiti's rise was kept in check thanks to losses to Honduras and El Salvador throughout the rest of their Gold Cup campaign.

Finally, Cuba's ascent of 13 places to 137 came despite drubbings at the hands of USA and Panama at the Gold Cup.

The Cubans' 4-0 victory over Belize was enough to assure them of a fine rise through the table.

120-91

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
120		Botswana	128.84
119		Antigua and Barbuda	130.46
118		Singapore	135.91
117		Sudan	138.84
116		Togo	142.39
115		Syria	145.37
114		Trinidad and Tobago	148.24
113		Philippines	150.18
112		Congo DR	154.16
111		Tanzania	155.14
110		Thailand	158.49
109		Lebanon	162.01
108		Tahiti	164.40
107		Angola	166.43
106		Congo	168.40
105		El Salvador	178.95
104		Canada	179.96
103		Guatemala	185.28
102		Saudi Arabia	188.77
101		United Arab Emirates	191.52
100		North Korea	197.76
99		Bahrain	198.04
98		Scotland	203.44
97		China	205.86
96		Qatar	206.41
95		Liechtenstein	207.72
94		Kuwait	208.60
93		Oman	211.55
92		Luxembourg	216.41
91		Malta	218.47

Analysis

The movement in this group was influenced mostly by the unpredictable nature of the 2013 Gold Cup.

Trinidad and Tobago got a slight boost thanks to their relatively strong campaign, which saw them push Mexico to the limit in the quarterfinals.

El Salvador took a small hit due to a relatively weak campaign in which they barely beat a weaker Haiti side and drew with Trinidad and Tobago.

Canada dropped 11 spots after going winless through the group.

Scotland is not a country you would expect to see this low down. Their terrible World Cup qualifying campaign has them dropping through the rankings quickly, with a current status of 98.

At the other end of the spectrum, Congo gained an incredible 25 spots up to 106 thanks to the continued success of their own qualifying campaign.

90-61

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
90		Libya	224.84
89		Malawi	225.83
88		Senegal	226.04
87		Mali	228.91
86		Kazakhstan	229.26
85		Iraq	230.32
84		Gabon	231.07
83		Cyprus	242.54
82		New Caledonia	243.99
81		Ethiopia	260.10
80		Cape Verde Islands	260.16
79		Cameroon	261.60
78		Uganda	262.83
77		Northern Ireland	268.80
76		Moldova	278.85
75		Lithuania	279.38
74		Egypt	291.79
73		Azerbaijan	292.59
72		Latvia	294.68
71		Iceland	297.83
70		Wales	299.18
69		Jamaica	302.00
68		Macedonia	303.04
67		Morocco	308.52
66		Georgia	312.05
65		New Zealand	312.41
64		Bolivia	315.94
63		Tunisia	316.55
62		Algeria	319.84
61		Estonia	323.31

Analysis

The most intriguing story in this assortment of teams is Cape Verde Islands.

The Africans rose an incredible 37 spots in the rankings—without playing a match.

The world football governing body, FIFA, awarded Cape Verde with two 3-0 victories over Equatorial Guinea in World Cup qualifying matches as their opponents were found to have fielded an ineligible player in both.

The original matches had ended as a 4-3 Equatorial Guinea victory and a 2-1 Cape Verde victory, respectively, results which eliminated Cape Verde from contention for the World Cup.

The wins, allied to remaining alive in World Cup contention, allowed the team to fly up the rankings this month.

Meanwhile, New Zealand and New Caledonia both fell substantially, as they are still reeling from losses at the OFC Nations Cup. Egypt gained seven places due to their unbeaten World Cup qualifying campaign.

60-31

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
60		South Africa	324.62
59		Albania	337.25
58		Belarus	340.57
57		Armenia	342.26
56		Bulgaria	343.28
55		Finland	362.73
54		Burkina Faso	364.15
53		Honduras	365.42
52		Slovakia	373.85
51		Austria	376.73
50		Israel	377.06
49		Montenegro	377.09
48		Zambia	378.74
47		Costa Rica	379.21
46		Jordan	380.82
45		Serbia	381.24
44		Turkey	383.72
43		Slovenia	385.30
42		Poland	386.64
41		Hungary	389.04
40		Panama	397.53
39		Norway	398.03
38		Romania	399.87
37		Venezuela	403.34
36		Peru	411.08
35		Uzbekistan	413.65
34		Ukraine	418.79
33		Paraguay	427.55
32		Denmark	430.35
31		Nigeria	431.32

Analysis

South Africa's rise through the rankings is similar to that of Cape Verde.

The South Africans were beneficiaries of an Ethiopia mistake, as an ineligible player forced FIFA to reverse a World Cup qualifying result that had eliminated South Africa from contention and now sees them rise 30 places.

Another interesting change is Panama's 12-place climb to 40 after their victory over Mexico to earn a berth in the Gold Cup final.

Meanwhile, Montenegro and Israel's meteoric rises through the rankings were brought down to Earth, each of them standing still thanks to inactivity and less-than-ideal results in World Cup qualifying.

Nigeria also saw some momentum quashed, as they fell one spot out of the top 30 after a tough Confederations Cup campaign.

30-21

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
30		Ireland	431.40
29		Iran	438.22
28		Czech Republic	441.11
27		Switzerland	443.67
26		Belgium	444.90
25		Ecuador	446.82
24		Chile	452.12
23		Bosnia and Herzegovina	452.28
22		Greece	454.33
21		South Korea	458.32

Analysis

Now we are getting to the more interesting teams as we head toward the World Cup.

Ireland's past successes seem to be wearing off as their poor performances at Euro 2012 and their fourth-place standing in World Cup qualifying have them back to 30.

Iran's qualification for Brazil still has them flying high, even if they fell a spot.

Czech Republic are creeping back into contention in their World Cup qualifying group, but they have also fallen a spot.

Switzerland's two-place drop reflects their inability to close what looks to be the easiest qualifying group in Europe.

Belgium have fallen a bit due to other teams' ascensions up the table, but they are surely a team to watch in the coming months.

Poor results of old seem to be washing away for Ecuador as they move up four spots.

Chile gained two places thanks to two big World Cup wins that have them in the South American qualifying zone.

Bosnia and Herzegovina are yet to pass Greece in the rankings, but their seemingly inevitable qualification for the World Cup at their expense should take care of that.

South Korea are the only team to fall out of the top 20 this month, as their run of four winless matches has them down four spots to 21.

20-11

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
20		Ghana	458.38
19		Ivory Coast	471.72
18		USA	472.41
17		Australia	472.42
16		Mexico	473.55
15		Japan	474.64
14		France	474.77
13		Colombia	475.02
12		Sweden	478.38
11		Russia	484.72

Analysis

The middle eight of this group of 10 is so incredibly close that each one could easily climb to No. 12 by next month.

Ghana and Russia are the only real outliers, with Ghana barely remaining in the top 20 because of their tough World Cup qualifying group with Zambia and Russia suffering a qualifying loss to Portugal.

Ivory Coast have fallen slightly after a loss to Ghana, while Australia's losses to Japan and China set them back.

Japan, on the other hand, flew nine spots up the rankings thanks to two big wins over Australia and South Korea.

USA understandably gained the most, as their Gold Cup triumph pushed them up 14 spots to 18.

Mexico have been so out of form recently that the weakening of their Gold Cup squad barely saved them from falling below their North American rivals—though they are just over 0.1 percent higher than USA.

Finally, Colombia's rise up the table is getting into high gear, while France and Sweden remain in lofty spots despite tough World Cup qualifying groups.

10. Croatia

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
10		Croatia	487.54

Analysis

Croatia have been hanging around this position for quite some time, but they could be in store for a drop very soon.

The Croatians lost consecutive matches in June, one a big World Cup qualifier to Scotland that could gift the group to Belgium and push Croatia into a playoff.

After the disappointment of the 2010 World Cup, one should not take Croatia's qualification for granted despite this sides talent.

9. Uruguay

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
9		Uruguay	510.99

Analysis

Uruguay's run in the 2013 Confederations Cup showed again how inconsistent they are over time.

The South Americans are riding some great results in major tournaments over the past four years, as they won the 2011 Copa America and finished fourth at both the 2010 World Cup and 2013 Confederations Cup.

However, Uruguay's poor form in World Cup qualifying has them facing elimination heading into the final few matches of the CONMEBOL group.

Uruguay could definitely be a dangerous team in Brazil next summer. This threat is contingent on them qualifying first, though.

8. England

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
8		England	516.50

Analysis

This England side seem to catch quite a bit of flak—especially from their own media—for a perceived lack of ability.

No, this is not the most stylish team in the world, and it probably isn't made to win a major tournament.

However, it is one of the more consistent teams in the world.

In 44 matches over the past four years, England have lost just seven, of which only three were to teams ranked lower than them: a meaningless World Cup qualifier with a dangerous Ukraine, a friendly with France and in a Zlatan Ibrahimovic masterclass against Sweden.

England's ability to beat the teams they are supposed to beat has guided them through major tournaments and to where they are in these rankings.

However, that doesn't equate to victory on the biggest stages.

7. Portugal

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
7		Portugal	529.13

Analysis

Portugal may be leading their World Cup qualifying group, but they are not favorites to win it and qualify automatically for Brazil.

The side's poor form in the early stages of qualifying has them just two points clear of Russia with two extra matches played, giving the Russians two chances to pass them.

Furthermore, Israel are just three points behind them with a match in hand.

Portugal might be facing an uphill battle to qualify for next summer's World Cup, but this side should be used to it.

They have barely qualified for each of the past two major tournaments, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, before advancing through the group stage of both.

Don't look too far into Portugal's qualifying struggles if they can find a way to get to Brazil.

6. Argentina

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
6		Argentina	537.31

Analysis

On paper, Argentina are one heck of a team.

Combining the likes of Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel di Maria with Lionel Messi should lead to good things.

That has been the case of late, with them racing to a comfortable lead in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying group.

However, the Argentines were a bit of a work in progress before then, as evidenced by their 4-0 loss to Germany in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals and elimination from the 2011 Copa America at home.

Given their recent form, though, Argentina should be a huge threat in Brazil.

5. Italy

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
5		Italy	548.61

Analysis

Italy look to be a quiet threat ahead of the World Cup.

The Azzurri's incredible performance in the Confederations Cup semifinals against Spain showed the type of Euro 2012 final we could have seen if injuries hadn't reared their ugly head.

However, Italy's poor performances at the 2010 World Cup are holding them back from pushing into the top few spots on this list.

This Italian side might be getting a little bit older, but they certainly possess the skill to push any team to the limit.

4. Netherlands

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
4		Netherlands	556.40

Analysis

The Netherlands' past four years have been marred by just a few months of results.

The Dutch side powered to the World Cup final in 2010 and came so close to defeating Spain. Furthermore, they have been dominant in qualifying campaigns, dropping just three points (in a meaningless match, no less) in the past three campaigns combined.

However, they absolutely folded at Euro 2012, losing every match in the tournament in a stretch of winning just three matches in 11.

They have righted the ship since then, though, and could well be on their way to a strong showing in Brazil.

3. Brazil

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
3		Brazil	570.17

Analysis

Brazil's incredible run to the Confederations Cup title led many to imagine what could be in store for them next summer.

The Brazilians certainly have the talent and the potential, but are they ready to shine on the biggest stage? Can they handle the pressure of playing in front of their home fans?

If the Confederations Cup is any indication, Brazil is in for one heck of a party on July 13, 2014.

2. Germany

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
2		Germany	590.02

Analysis

After falling in the semifinals of both the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, Germany enter the 2014 World Cup hoping to finally get back to winning those final two matches.

The Germans certainly have the talent to pull this off, a fact that is made abundantly clear by their incredible record in recent qualifying campaigns, where they haven't lost since 2007.

It really is a championship-or-bust prospect for Germany entering Brazil.

1. Spain

Ranking		Country	Points out of 1,000
1		Spain	651.08

Analysis

There's no questioning who the top team in the world is at this point.

Spain are the reigning World Cup and Euro champions, a feat that has established them as one of the finest national teams in history.

Their lopsided defeat to Brazil in the Confederations Cup final may have slightly lessened their hold on the top spot, but the Spaniards are still far and away the best team in the world.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed the list.

I tried to get around to mentioning as many of the teams as possible and giving a reason for their placement, but I obviously couldn't get to all of them.

If you have any questions or thoughts, or just have a general suggestion for the rankings, please comment on the article and/or contact me on Twitter at the link below.

Until next time, stay updated by following me and the rankings on Twitter at the links posted below.

Rankings: Follow @WagnerWorldRank

Me: Follow @Fw1812