FIFA World rankings - wikipedia FIFA World rankings This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 12 October 2017. This article is about the men 's rankings. For the women 's rankings, see FIFA Women 's World Rankings. Top 20 rankings as of 14 September 2017 Rank Change Team Points Germany 1606 Brazil 1590 Portugal 1386 Argentina 1325 5 Belgium 1265 6 Poland 1250 7 Switzerland 1210 8 France 1208 9 Chile 1195 10 Colombia 1191 11 Spain 1184 12 Peru 1103 13 5 Wales 1089 14 Mexico 1085 15 England 1056 16 Uruguay 1043 17 5 Italy 1035 18 Croatia 977 19 Slovakia 967 20 Northern Ireland 945 * Change from 6 July 2017 Complete rankings at FIFA.com The FIFA World Ranking is a ranking system for men 's national teams in association football, currently led by Germany. The teams of the member nations of FIFA, football 's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest. The rankings were introduced in December 1992, and eight teams ( Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain ) have held the top position, of which Brazil have spent longest ranked first. A points system is used, with points being awarded based on the results of all FIFA - recognised full international matches. Under the existing system, rankings are based on a team 's performance over the last four years, with more recent results and more significant matches being more heavily weighted to help reflect the current competitive state of a team. The ranking system was most recently revamped after the 2006 World Cup, with the first edition of the new series of rankings issued on 12 July 2006. The most significant change is that the rankings are now based on results over the previous four years instead of the previous eight years. The change is perceived to respond to criticisms that the FIFA World Rankings, based upon the previous calculation method in use from January 1999 to June 2006, did not effectively reflect the relative strengths of the national teams. Alternative systems have been devised, such as the World Football Elo Ratings, based on the Elo rating system used in chess and Go, ranking teams. In September 2017, FIFA announced they were reviewing the ranking system and will decide after the end of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification if any changes are to be made to improve the ranking. Contents 1 History 1.1 1993 -- 1998 calculation method 1.2 1999 ranking system update 1.3 1999 -- 2006 calculation method 1.4 2006 ranking system update 2 Rank leaders 3 Uses of the rankings 4 Criticism 5 Current calculation method 5.1 International `` A '' matches 5.2 Win, draw or defeat 5.3 Match status 5.4 Opponent strength 5.5 Regional strength 5.6 Assessment period 5.7 Ranking formula 5.8 Examples 6 Awards 6.1 Team of the Year 6.1. 1 Performances by countries 6.2 Best Mover of the Year 7 Ranking schedule 8 See also 9 Notes and references 10 External links History In December 1992, FIFA first published a listing in rank order of its member associations to provide a basis for comparison of the relative strengths of these teams. From the following August, this list was more frequently updated, to be published most months. Significant changes were implemented in January 1999 and again in July 2006, as a reaction to criticisms of the system. Historical records of the rankings, such as listed at FIFA.com, reflect the method of calculation in use at the time, as the current method has not been applied retrospectively to rankings prior to July 2006. Membership of FIFA has expanded from 167 to 209 since the rankings began ; all 209 members are currently included in the rankings. 1993 -- 1998 calculation method The ranking formula used from August 1993 until December 1998 was very simplistic and quickly became noticed for its lack of supporting factors. When the rankings were initially introduced, a team received one point for a draw or three for a victory in FIFA - recognised matches -- much the same as a traditional league scoring system. This was a quite simplistic approach, however, and FIFA quickly realised that there were many factors affecting international matches. 1999 ranking system update In order to meet the objective of fairly and accurately comparing the relative strengths of various national sides, the system was updated in 1999. The major changes were as follows : the point ranking was scaled up by a factor of ten the method of calculation was changed to take into account factors including : the number of goals scored or conceded whether the match was played at home or away the importance of a match or competition regional strength a fixed number of points were no longer necessarily awarded for a victory or a draw match losers were able to earn points Two new awards were introduced as part of the system : Team of the Year Best Mover of the Year The changes made the ranking system more complex, but helped improve its accuracy by making it more comprehensive. 1999 -- 2006 calculation method Main article : FIFA World Ranking system ( 1999 -- 2006 ) In January 1999, FIFA introduced a revised system of ranking calculation, incorporating many changes in response to criticism of inappropriate rankings. For the ranking all matches, their scores and importance were all recorded, and were used in the calculation procedure. Only matches for the senior men 's national team were included. Separate ranking systems were used for other representative national sides such as women 's and junior teams, for example the FIFA Women 's World Rankings. The women 's rankings were, and still are, based on a procedure which is a simplified version of the Football Elo Ratings. 2006 ranking system update FIFA announced that the ranking system would be updated following the 2006 World Cup. The evaluation period was cut from eight to four years, and a simpler method of calculation is now used to determine rankings. Goals scored and home or away advantage are no longer taken into account, and other aspects of the calculations, including the importance attributed to different types of match, have been revised. The first set of revised rankings and the calculation methodology were announced on 12 July 2006. This change is rooted at least in part in widespread criticism of the previous ranking system. Many football enthusiasts felt it was inaccurate, especially when compared to other ranking systems and that it was not sufficiently responsive to changes in the performance of individual teams. Rank leaders FIFA World Ranking Leaders When the system was introduced, Germany débuted as the top - ranked team following their extended period of dominance in which they had reached the three previous FIFA World Cup finals, winning one of them. Brazil took the lead in the run up to the 1994 FIFA World Cup after winning eight and losing only one of nine qualification matches, while on the way scoring twenty goals and conceding just four. Italy then led for a short time on the back of their own equally successful World Cup qualifying campaign, after which the top place was re-claimed by Germany. Brazil 's success in their lengthy qualifying campaign returned them to the lead for a brief period. Germany led again during the 1994 World Cup, until Brazil 's victory in that competition gave them a large lead that would stand up for nearly seven years, until they were surpassed by a strong France team that captured both the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2000 European Football Championship. Success at the 2002 FIFA World Cup restored Brazil to the top position, where they remained until February 2007, when Italy returned to the top for the first time since 1993 following their 2006 FIFA World Cup win in Germany. Just one month later, Argentina replaced them, reaching the top for the first time, but Italy regained its place in April. After winning the Copa América 2007 in July, Brazil returned to the top, but were replaced by Italy in September and then Argentina in October. In July 2008, Spain took over the lead for the first time, having won UEFA Euro 2008. Brazil began a sixth stint at the top of the rankings in July 2009 after winning the 2009 Confederations Cup, and Spain regained the title in November 2009 after winning every match in qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In April 2010, Brazil returned to the top of the table. After winning the 2010 World Cup, Spain regained the top position and held it until August 2011, when The Netherlands reached the top spot for the first time, only to relinquish it the following month. In July 2014, Germany took over the lead once again, having won the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In July 2015, Argentina reached the top spot for the first time since 2008, after reaching both the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final, as well as the 2015 Copa America Final. In November 2015, Belgium became the leader in the FIFA rankings for the first time, after topping their Euro 2016 qualifying group. Belgium led the rankings until April 2016, when Argentina returned to the top. On April 6, 2017, Brazil returned to the No. 1 spot for the first time since just prior to the 2010 World Cup, but Germany regained the top spot in July after winning the Confederations Cup. Uses of the rankings The rankings are used by FIFA to rank the progression and current ability of the national football teams of its member nations, and claims that they create `` a reliable measure for comparing national A-teams ''. They are used as part of the calculation, or the entire grounds to seed competitions. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament, the rankings were used to seed the groups in the competitions involving CONCACAF members ( using the May rankings ), CAF ( with the July set of data ), and UEFA, using the specially postponed November 2007 ranking positions. The October 2009 ranking was used to determine the seeds for the 2010 FIFA World Cup final draw. The March 2011 ranking was used to seed the draw for the 2012 CAF Men 's Pre-Olympic Tournament second qualifying round. The rankings are also used to determine the winners of the two annual awards national teams receive on the basis of their performance in the rankings. Criticism Since their introduction in 1992, the FIFA World Rankings have been the subject of much debate, particularly regarding the calculation procedure and the resulting disparity between generally perceived quality and world ranking of some teams. For example, Norway was ranked second in October 1993 and July -- August 1995, and the United States reached fourth in 2006, to the surprise of even their own players. However, criticism regarding the unrealistic ranking continued even after the introduction of the new formula. Israel 's climb to 15th in November 2008 raised a few eyebrows even in the Israeli press, with the team missing a huge opportunity to break into the top 10 after conceding a last gasp equaliser against Latvia. Similarly, Belgium 's rank of world number 1 in November 2015 was met with skepticism in the press, given that Belgium had only played in one tournament final stage in the past 13 years. Prior to July 2006, one of the main criticisms was that the rankings considered the performances of teams over an eight - year period, and that teams ' ranking positions did not correlate to their recent performances. This criticism has lessened somewhat with the introduction of a new formula, reflecting results over a four - year period, introduced in July 2006. However, problems remain, particularly that hosts of some major tournaments do not take part in qualifying rounds, and instead participate only in friendlies which offer fewer points. This has been a factor which has resulted in 2014 World Cup hosts Brazil falling to a record low ranking of 22nd in the world. The perceived flaws in the FIFA system have led to the creation of a number of alternative rankings from football statisticians, including the World Football Elo Ratings and the rec. sport. soccer Statistics Foundation rankings. The current system has been criticised for being open to abuse. National teams can maintain a higher average score by playing fewer friendly matches, particularly against weaker opponents. For example, Switzerland were seeded for the 2014 World Cup draw, largely thanks to only playing three friendly matches in the previous year. Switzerland would have reduced their rating if they had played any more friendlies, as their average score was greater than the maximum possible score from winning a friendly match against the top - ranked nation. Romania were one of the surprise seeds for the 2018 World Cup preliminary draw after taking advice from a consultant and playing only one friendly in the year before the draw. Lastly, the use of regional strength multiplier in the ranking determination formula has been accused of further reinforcing and perpetuating the bias for and against certain regions. FIFA 's use of regional multiplier has been cited as a primary reason why most teams in AFC and CONCACAF have significantly lower FIFA rankings compared to their Elo rating based rankings. Current calculation method After the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a revised calculation procedure for the FIFA rankings was introduced, with a significantly simplified procedure. The new rankings were compiled in response to criticism from the media. Meetings were attended by FIFA staff and external experts and a large amount of research was conducted by this group, resulting in the new ranking system. The new system was confirmed in Leipzig on 7 December 2005 by a committee of FIFA executives. Notable changes include the dropping of the home or away advantage and number of goals from the calculation, and the simplification of many aspects of the system. The system, like the previous ones, is extremely similar to that of a league, though with changes made to ensure that it is still representative of the teams ' performance despite playing differing numbers of matches per annum, and the differing strength of opposition that teams have to face. The factors taken into account are as follows : Match result Match status Opposition strength Regional strength Teams ' actual scores are a result of the average points gained over each calendar year ; matches from the previous four years are considered, with more weight being given to recent ones. International `` a '' matches In October 2012, FIFA released a press circular defining what is considered to be an international `` A '' match. For the purposes of the ranking, FIFA defines an international `` A '' match as a match between two FIFA members for which both members field their first representative team ( `` A '' team ). The FIFA / Coca - Cola World Ranking is based on a list of all international `` A '' matches that are recognised by FIFA. International `` A '' matches include matches played as part of the FIFA World Cup, FIFA World Cup qualifiers, FIFA Confederations Cup, continental final tournaments, continental qualifying competitions and international friendlies. -- Jérôme Valcke, FIFA.com Win, draw or defeat In previous years a complicated system of points allocation was used, depending on how strong the opponent was, and how large the loss margin, which allowed weaker losing teams to gain points when playing a much stronger opposition, if they managed to put up a decent match. With the new system, the points allocation is simpler : three points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss, in line with most league systems around the world. In the event of a match being decided by a penalty shootout, the winning team receives two points, and the losing team one point. Result Points Win ( no penalty shootout ) Win ( penalty shootout ) Draw Loss ( penalty shootout ) Loss ( no penalty shootout ) 0 Until November 2012, in two - legged play - offs, if Team A lost the first leg 2 -- 0, then matched the result in the return leg and won after a penalty shootout, it received two points. However, if Team A won the return leg by one goal only, being eliminated in the process, it received 3 points. FIFA fixed this flaw starting with the November 2012 ranking. Match status Different matches have different importance to teams, and FIFA has tried to respect this by using a weighting system, where the most significant matches are in the World Cup finals, and the lowest weighted are friendly matches. FIFA states that it wishes to recognise that friendlies are still important, since they make up half of the competitive matches counted in the rankings. FIFA also stated, however, that it did not plan to make any adjustment for teams that qualify directly for major tournaments. The match status multipliers are as follows : Match status Multiplier Friendly match x 1.0 FIFA World Cup and Continental cup qualifiers x 2.5 Continental cup and Confederations Cup finals x 3.0 World Cup finals match x 4.0 Opponent strength A win against a very highly ranked opponent is a considerably greater achievement than a win against a low - rated opponent, thus the strength of the opposing team is an important factor. The new system uses an opposition strength factor based on team rankings. The previous system was based on points difference. The formula used is : Opposition strength multiplier = ( 200 − ranking position ) / 100 ( displaystyle ( \text ( Opposition strength multiplier ) ) = ( ( 200 - ( \text ( ranking position ) ) ) / 100 ) ) with the exceptions that the team ranked # 1 is given a multiplier of 2, and teams ranked 150th and below are assigned the minimum multiplier of 0.5. The ranking position is taken from the opposition 's ranking in the most recently published FIFA World Ranking before the match is included in the ranking calculation. The rankings published before July 2006 are purely historical and are not used for the new ranking calculation. Instead, FIFA went back as far as 1996 to apply the new formula and is using those new rankings for the current calculations. See the detailed break - down of point totals for teams from the top 20 in the October 2007 rankings. Regional strength In addition to the opposition strength multiplier, FIFA considers the relative strength of entire confederations in the calculation. Each confederation is assigned a weighting between 0.85 and 1.0, based on the relative performance of the confederations in the last three World Cups. Their values are as follows : Confederation After 2014 World Cup After 2010 World Cup After 2006 World Cup Up to and including 2006 World Cup UEFA ( Europe ) 0.99 1.00 1.00 1.00 CONMEBOL ( South America ) 1.00 1.00 0.98 1.00 CONCACAF ( North and Central America and Caribbean ) 0.85 0.88 0.85 0.88 AFC ( Asia ) 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.85 CAF ( Africa ) 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.85 OFC ( Oceania ) 0.85 0.85 0.85 0.85 The multiplier used in the calculation is the average of the regional strength weighting of the two teams : Regional strength multiplier = Team 1 regional weighting + Team 2 regional weighting 2 ( displaystyle ( \text ( Regional strength multiplier ) ) = ( \frac ( ( \text ( Team 1 regional weighting ) ) + ( \text ( Team 2 regional weighting ) ) ) ( 2 ) ) ) FIFA changed the formula used to compute the confederation weightings after the 2010 FIFA World Cup without public announcement. Without this modification, UEFA 's multiplier would have dropped for the first time below 1, with CONMEBOL remaining the only confederation with a multiplier of 1. The confederation weighting for AFC was increased in August 2011 from 0.85 to 0.86 after a computer programmer found an error in FIFA 's calculations. Assessment period Matches played over the last four years ( 48 months ) are included in the calculation, but there is a weighting to put more emphasis on recent results. Previously an eight - year period was used. The date weighting is as follows : Date of match Multiplier Within the last 12 months × 1.0 12 -- 24 months ago × 0.5 24 -- 36 months ago × 0.3 36 -- 48 months ago × 0.2 If a team exceeds the assessment period without playing a match, it is temporarily removed from the rankings, and is reinstated as soon as it plays a match again. The most recent team to be temporarily absent from the rankings is São Tomé and Príncipe ( reinstated in November 2011, after having been removed in December 2007 ). Ranking formula The final ranking points figure for a single match is multiplied by 100 and rounded to the nearest whole number. Ranking points = Result points × Match status × Opposition strength × Regional strength ( displaystyle ( \text ( Ranking points ) ) = ( \text ( Result points ) ) \times ( \text ( Match status ) ) \times ( \text ( Opposition strength ) ) \times ( \text ( Regional strength ) ) ) Results for all matches played in the year are averaged together ( assuming at least five matches have been played ). The average ranking points for the four previous years, weighted by their multiplier mentioned above, are added together to arrive at the final ranking points. Examples The following examples use these hypothetical teams and confederations, and assume the games are played within the last 12 months : Amplistan is currently ranked 2nd in the world and is a member of confederation XYZ ( weighting 1.0 ) ; Bestrudia is currently ranked 188th in the world and is a member of confederation ABC ( weighting 0.88 ) ; Conesto is currently ranked 39th in the world and is a member of confederation QRS ( weighting 0.98 ) ; Delphiz is currently ranked 30th in the world and is a member of confederation HIJ ( weighting 0.94 ). A friendly match is played between Amplistan and Bestrudia. Amplistan wins 2 -- 1. Match Team Result points Match status Opposition strength Regional strength Ranking points Amplistan vs. Bestrudia ( friendly ) Result : 2 -- 1 Amplistan Bestrudia 0 1.0 1.0 0.50 1.98 0.94 0.94 141 0 Bestrudia gets no ranking points because it lost the game, so all factors are multiplied by zero. Amplistan 's 141 ranking points are calculated like this : 3 points for the win ; multiplied by 1.0 for match status ( friendly match ) ; multiplied by 0.50 for opposition strength ( Bestrudia is ranked 188th, so it has the minimum 0.50 weighting ) ; multiplied by 0.94 for regional strength ( the average of the weightings for the two teams ' confederations ) ; multiplied by 100. More examples : Match Team Result points Match status Opposition strength Regional strength Ranking points Amplistan vs. Bestrudia ( friendly ) Result : 1 -- 2 Amplistan Bestrudia 0 1.0 1.0 0.50 1.98 0.94 0.94 0 558 Amplistan vs. Bestrudia ( friendly ) Result : 1 -- 1 Amplistan Bestrudia 1.0 1.0 0.50 1.98 0.94 0.94 47 186 Amplistan vs. Bestrudia ( World Cup finals ) Result : 2 -- 1 Amplistan Bestrudia 0 4.0 4.0 0.50 1.98 0.94 0.94 564 0 Amplistan vs. Bestrudia ( World Cup finals ) Result : 1 -- 1 ( Bestrudia wins on penalties ) Amplistan Bestrudia 4.0 4.0 0.50 1.98 0.94 0.94 188 1488 Amplistan vs. Conesto ( friendly ) Result : 1 -- 2 Amplistan Conesto 0 1.0 1.0 1.61 1.98 0.99 0.99 0 588 Conesto vs. Delphiz ( Continental cup qualifiers ) Result : 4 -- 0 Conesto Delphiz 0 2.5 2.5 1.70 1.61 0.96 0.96 1224 0 Conesto vs. Delphiz ( Continental cup qualifiers ) Result : 0 -- 1 Conesto Delphiz 0 2.5 2.5 1.70 1.61 0.96 0.96 0 1159 Conesto vs. Amplistan ( World Cup finals ) Result : 0 -- 0 ( Amplistan wins on penalties ) Conesto Amplistan 4.0 4.0 1.98 1.61 0.99 0.99 784 1275 Conesto gets more points than Bestrudia for defeating the same team ( Amplistan ) because of the higher weighting of its confederation. Awards Each year FIFA hands out two awards to its member nations, based on their performance in the rankings. They are : Team of the Year Team of the Year is awarded to the team that finishes top of the FIFA World Ranking. Argentina are the Team of the Year for the second time in the 23 - year history of the rankings. Brazil hold the records for most consecutive wins ( seven, between 1994 and 2000 ) and most wins overall ( twelve ). The table below shows the three best teams of each year. Year First place Second place Third place 1993 Germany Italy Brazil 1994 Brazil Spain Sweden 1995 Brazil Germany Italy Brazil Germany France 1997 Brazil Germany Czech Republic 1998 Brazil France Germany 1999 Brazil Czech Republic France 2000 Brazil France Argentina 2001 France Argentina Brazil 2002 Brazil France Spain 2003 Brazil France Spain Brazil France Argentina 2005 Brazil Czech Republic Netherlands 2006 Brazil Italy Argentina 2007 Argentina Brazil Italy 2008 Spain Germany Netherlands 2009 Spain Brazil Netherlands Spain Netherlands Germany 2011 Spain Netherlands Germany 2012 Spain Germany Argentina 2013 Spain Germany Argentina 2014 Germany Argentina Colombia 2015 Belgium Argentina Spain 2016 Argentina Brazil Germany Performances by countries Team First place Second place Third place Brazil 12 ( 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2006 ) 3 ( 2007, 2009 & 2016 ) 2 ( 1993 & 2001 ) Spain 6 ( 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013 ) 1 ( 1994 ) 3 ( 2002, 2003 & 2015 ) Germany 2 ( 1993 & 2014 ) 6 ( 1995, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2012 & 2013 ) 4 ( 1998, 2010, 2011 & 2016 ) Argentina 2 ( 2007 & 2016 ) 3 ( 2001, 2014 & 2015 ) 5 ( 2000, 2004, 2006, 2012 & 2013 ) France 1 ( 2001 ) 5 ( 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003 & 2004 ) 2 ( 1996 & 1999 ) Belgium 1 ( 2015 ) 0 0 Netherlands 0 2 ( 2010 & 2011 ) 3 ( 2005, 2008 & 2009 ) Italy 0 2 ( 1993 & 2006 ) 2 ( 1995 & 2007 ) Czech Republic 0 2 ( 1999 & 2005 ) 1 ( 1997 ) Sweden 0 0 1 ( 1994 ) Colombia 0 0 1 ( 2014 ) Best Mover of the year The Best Mover of the Year was awarded to the team who made the best progress up the rankings over the course of the year. In the FIFA rankings, this is not simply the team that has risen the most places, but a calculation is performed in order to account for the fact that it becomes progressively harder to earn more points the higher up the rankings a team is. The calculation used is the number of points the team has at the end of the year ( z ) multiplied by the number of points it earned during the year ( y ). The team with the highest index on this calculation received the award. The table below shows the top three best movers from each year. The award has not been an official part of the awards since 2006. Year First place Second place Third place 1993 Colombia Portugal Morocco 1994 Croatia Brazil Uzbekistan 1995 Jamaica Trinidad and Tobago Czech Republic South Africa Paraguay Canada 1997 Yugoslavia Bosnia and Herzegovina Iran 1998 Croatia France Argentina 1999 Slovenia Cuba Uzbekistan 2000 Nigeria Honduras Cameroon 2001 Costa Rica Australia Honduras 2002 Senegal Wales Brazil 2003 Bahrain Oman Turkmenistan China PR Uzbekistan Ivory Coast 2005 Ghana Ethiopia Switzerland 2006 Italy Germany France While an official award has not been made for movements since 2006, FIFA has released a list of the ' Best Movers ' in the rankings since 2007. An example of the informal on - going `` Mover of the Year '' award is the recognition made by FIFA to Colombia in 2012 in an official press release. However, the calculation methodology had changed to the difference in ranking points over the course of the year ( rather than the methodology used in the official award from 1993 to 2006 ). The results for latter years are based on a similar methodology. Year Best mover Second best Third best 2007 Mozambique Norway New Caledonia 2008 Spain Montenegro Russia 2009 Brazil Algeria Slovenia Netherlands Montenegro Botswana 2011 Wales Sierra Leone Bosnia and Herzegovina 2012 Colombia Ecuador Mali 2013 Ukraine Armenia United States 2014 Germany Slovakia Belgium 2015 Turkey Hungary Nicaragua 2016 France Peru Poland Ranking schedule Rankings are published monthly, usually on a Thursday. The deadline for the matches to be considered is usually the Thursday prior to the release date, but after major tournaments, all games up to the final are included. Rankings schedule 2017 Release date 12 January 9 February 9 March 6 April 4 May 1 June 6 July 10 August 14 September 16 October 23 November 21 December See also FIFA Women 's World Rankings World Football Elo Ratings Seeding for 2006 FIFA World Cup Statistical association football predictions Notes and references ^ Jump up to : `` The FIFA / Coca - Cola World Ranking - Ranking Table ''. FIFA. Retrieved 6 July 2017. Jump up ^ Ben Rumsby ( 4 September 2017 ). `` Fifa to review rankings system after friendlies harm England 's World Cup seeding ''. The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 October 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` FIFA / Coca - Cola World Ranking Procedure ''. FIFA. Retrieved 28 March 2008. Jump up ^ `` Revised FIFA / Coca - Cola World Ranking ''. FIFA. 6 July 2006. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2008. Jump up ^ `` Women 's World Ranking Procedure ''. FIFA. Retrieved 28 March 2008. Jump up ^ `` Great expectations ''. FIFA. 17 May 2006. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2008. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Ranking : Netherlands dethrone Spain ''. Football-Rankings.info. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2011. Jump up ^ `` Brazil back on top of FIFA Ranking, Netherlands slump to record low ''. ESPN. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Fifa rankings : Northern Ireland reach highest point as Germany lead the way ''. BBC news. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Organising Committee approves Final Draw procedure ''. FIFA. 2 December 2009. Archived from the original on 25 December 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2011. Jump up ^ `` Olympics -- updated draw procedure, with teams ''. CAFOnline.com. Confederation of African Football. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` The world rankings riddle ''. BBC Sport. 21 December 2000. Jump up ^ `` FIFA adapting new world rankings '' ( PDF ). Associated Press. 2 June 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` FIFA chief praises IFA 's work ''. The Jerusalem Post. 29 August 2008. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2009. Blatter was also asked about Israel 's unrealistic FIFA ranking. Despite failing to qualify for a major tournament in 38 years, the national team is currently ranked number 16 in the world, ahead of such team as Greece, Sweden and Denmark, and just two places below England. Jump up ^ `` Soccer : Quirky FIFA rankings system sees Israel climb to # 15 ''. The Jerusalem Post. 13 November 2008. Archived from the original on 16 November 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2009. Israel continued its baffling rise up the FIFA rankings on Wednesday, climbing one more position to a best - ever 15th in the world. Amazingly, the national team, which has n't reached a major tournament since the 1970 World Cup, is ahead of such teams as Greece ( 18 ), Nigeria ( 22 ), Sweden ( 29 ), Scotland ( 33 ), Denmark ( 34 ) and the Republic of Ireland ( 36 ) Jump up ^ `` The Last Word : It 's time to get rid of the FIFA rankings ''. The Jerusalem Post. 14 November 2008. Archived from the original on 16 November 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2009. So the news this week that Israel has risen another place to number 15 in the latest FIFA rankings, above Mexico ( 25 ), Nigeria ( 22 ), the US ( 24 ) and Colombia ( 40 ), only serves to underline the futility of the ranking system. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Ranking : November 2008 preview ( II ) ''. Football-Rankings.info. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2009. Israel will improve ( again ! ) their best ever ranking, climbing one place to 15th. With a win ( instead of a draw ) against Latvia they would have been tied for 8th place with Russia. Jump up ^ Alistair Tweedale ( 13 October 2015 ). `` Belgium rise to No1 in Fifa world rankings after they beat Israel -- despite playing one tournament in 13 years ''. The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Rankings ''. Travour.com. 1 June 2006. Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Jump up ^ Cummings, Michael. `` FIFA World Rankings Place Brazil 18th, Reinforce Flawed Nature of System ''. Retrieved 21 May 2013. Jump up ^ Freitas, Paulo. `` Scolari blames FIFA for Brazil 's poor ranking ''. Retrieved 16 June 2013. ^ Jump up to : Burnton, Simon ( 17 October 2013 ). `` With a bit of planning England could have been seeded ahead of the Swiss ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 15 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Romania, Wales set to be surprise World Cup top seeds ''. USA Today. Associated Press. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015. Romania took advice from a consultant who decoded some mysteries of a ranking system used by FIFA since 1992. Jump up ^ Gavril, Victor ( 5 July 2015 ). `` Burleanu : `` Am consultat specialiști în clasamentul FIFA. '' Cum a urcat România în TOP 10 mondial '' ( Burleanu : `` We have consulted FIFA ranking specialists. '' How Romania climbed in the World Top 10 ). România Liberă ( in Romanian ). Retrieved 29 July 2015. Jump up ^ `` 2018 FIFA World Cup : Preliminary draw pots for UEFA ''. Football-Rankings.info. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015. I 've told Romanian FA officials in the spring of 2014 to avoid playing friendlies. Surprisingly, they heeded my advice. Jump up ^ `` Soccer rankings : farewell FIFA, hello Elo ? ''. Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Circular no. 1324 '' ( PDF ). FIFA.com. Retrieved 20 December 2012. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Ranking : Flaw in the calculation ''. Football-Rankings.info. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2009. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Ranking : November 2012 differences ''. Football-Rankings.info. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Ranking : Penalty shoot - out matches ''. Football-Rankings.info. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2013. Jump up ^ Finals is used in this sense to mean the ' final tournament ' ( as opposed to the qualifying tournament ) Jump up ^ `` FIFA / Coca - Cola World Ranking : In focus '' ( PDF ). FIFA. 7 July 2006. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007. Jump up ^ `` 2006 revision of the FIFA / Coca - Cola World Ranking : Frequently Asked Questions About the FIFA World Ranking '' ( PDF ). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007. Jump up ^ However, 2010 FIFA World Cup hosts South Africa competed in CAF qualifying despite automatically qualifying for the World Cup ; this is because CAF chose to combine the 2010 World Cup qualifying tournament with the qualifiers for the 2010 African Cup of Nations, an event for which South Africa had to separately qualify. 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Jump up ^ `` Confederation weighting : Are the official values wrong ? ''. Football-Rankings.info. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2014. Jump up ^ `` Dutch dethrone Spain, Uruguay rise ''. FIFA. 24 August 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011. Jump up ^ Team of the Year Award 2010 Archived 18 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine. on the FIFA website Jump up ^ Best Mover of the Year Archived 20 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine. on the FIFA website Jump up ^ Spain on top and Wales highest climber on the FIFA website Jump up ^ Top Team and the Best Mover of the Year on the FIFA website ( PDF ) Jump up ^ Spain finish 2012 on top, Colombia in fifth. FIFA.com. Retrieved on 12 August 2013. Jump up ^ `` Spain on top, Ukraine highest climber ''. fifa.com. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Germany conquer 2014, Belgium, Slovakia impress ''. fifa.com. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014. Jump up ^ `` Belgium and Turkey claim awards, Hungary return ''. fifa.com. 3 December 2015. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Argentina and France take Ranking awards ''. fifa.com. 22 December 2016. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016. Jump up ^ Men 's Ranking Procedure on the FIFA website External links FIFA World Ranking FIFA rankings : A Guide to the very first ' 93 revision ( RSSSF ) How the FIFA men 's rankings are calculated Interactive world map of the FIFA rankings FIFA History of FIFA FIFA Anthem FIFA Congress FIFA Council FIFA Ethics Committee FIFA headquarters Football at the Summer Olympics List of football federations International Football Association Board Timeline of association football Football codes Association football Beach soccer Futsal Confederations AFC CAF CONCACAF CONMEBOL OFC UEFA Men 's tournaments FIFA World Cup FIFA Confederations Cup FIFA U-20 World Cup FIFA U-17 World Cup FIFA Club World Cup FIFA Futsal World Cup FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Blue Stars / FIFA Youth Cup Women 's tournaments FIFA Women 's World Cup FIFA U-20 Women 's World Cup FIFA U-17 Women 's World Cup FIFA Women 's Club World Cup Other tournaments FIFA Interactive World Cup Presidents Robert Guérin ( 1904 -- 1906 ) Daniel Burley Woolfall ( 1906 -- 1918 ) Jules Rimet ( 1921 -- 1954 ) Rodolphe Seeldrayers ( 1954 -- 1955 ) Arthur Drewry ( 1955 -- 1961 ) Stanley Rous ( 1961 -- 1974 ) João Havelange ( 1974 -- 1998 ) Sepp Blatter ( 1998 -- 2015 ) Issa Hayatou ( 2015 -- 2016, acting ) Gianni Infantino ( 2016 -- present ) General Secretaries Louis Muhlinghaus ( 1904 -- 1906 ) Wilhelm Hirschman ( 1906 -- 1931 ) Ivo Schricker ( 1932 -- 1951 ) Kurt Gassmann ( 1951 -- 1960 ) Helmut Käser ( 1961 -- 1981 ) Sepp Blatter ( 1981 -- 1998 ) Michel Zen - Ruffinen ( 1998 -- 2002 ) Urs Linsi ( 2002 -- 2007 ) Jérôme Valcke ( 2007 -- 2015 ) Markus Kattner ( 2015 -- 2016, acting ) Fatma Samoura ( 2016 -- present ) Awards FIFA 100 FIFA Ballon d'Or FIFA Club of the Century FIFA Development Award FIFA Fair Play Award FIFA Female Player of the Century FIFA FIFPro World XI FIFA Order of Merit FIFA Player of the Century FIFA Presidential Award FIFA Puskás Award FIFA Women 's World Cup awards FIFA World Coach of the Year FIFA World Cup All - Time Team FIFA World Cup Dream Team FIFA World Cup awards FIFA World Player of the Year The Best FIFA Football Awards Rankings FIFA World Rankings FIFA World Ranking system ( 1999 -- 2006 ) FIFA Women 's World Rankings Congresses 51st ( Paris 1998 ) 53rd ( Seoul 2002 ) 61st ( Zürich 2011 ) 65th ( Zürich 2015 ) Extraordinary ( Zürich 2016 ) Corruption `` FIFA 's Dirty Secrets '' Garcia Report 2015 FIFA corruption case List of banned football officials Others FIFA ( video game series ) List of FIFA country codes FIFA Disciplinary Code FIFA Fan Fest FIFA Futbol Mundial FIFA eligibility rules FIFA International Match Calendar FIFA International Referees List FIFA Master FIFA Transfer Matching System FIFA World Cup Trophy Non-FIFA United Passions International association football FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Cup U-17 U-20 Confederations Cup Olympics Youth Olympics Universiade World Rankings The Best FIFA Football Awards Timeline of association football Comparison of association football and futsal Africa CAF -- Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 Regional ( CECAFA, CEMAC, COSAFA, WAFU ) Asia AFC -- Asian Cup U-23 U-19 U-16 U-14 Regional ( ASEAN, EAFF, SAFF, WAFF ) Europe UEFA -- European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17 North America, Central America and the Caribbean CONCACAF -- Gold Cup U-20 U-17 U-15 Regional ( CFU, UNCAF ) Oceania OFC -- Nations Cup U-20 U-17 South America CONMEBOL -- Copa América U-20 U-17 U-15 Non-FIFA NF - 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Question: best football team in the world fifa ranking
Answer: Germany