Absurdity of the FIFA World Ranking #1309
Courtesy of Sean Wheelock on last night's
World Football Phone-in, who do you think is ranked as the third best nation in CONCACAF at present?
Now obviously Mexico are first and USA are second - even FIFA couldn't mess that up.
Now the most likely answer is Costa Rica - after all they have qualified for the last two World Cup finals.
But you'd be wrong. Amazingly (well not so amazing when you realise the way the FIFA World Ranking is calculated
) they are only SIXTH best.
So the next one would be Trinidad & Tobago, right? After all they reached the 2006 World Cup.
But no. In fact they wouldn't even make the final group according to FIFA as they are only 10th best.
Okay, so what about Guatemala, who missed out on the fourth place by just two points to T&T?
Nah, dudes, it ain't. (they are in fact 12th in CONCACAF)
In fact the third placed team from CONCACAF based on the FIFA World Rankings currently is a team that has reached only one World Cup finals in 1938, went out in the preliminary round to the aforementioned Costa Rica in the qualifying for Germany 2006, and lost all three games at the last Gold Cup to the USA, Costa Rica, and Canada.
Yes of course, the third best nation in CONCACAF based on the FIFA World Rankings is that well known football hotbed -
Cuba.
http://www.fifa.com/en/mens/statisti...v-2006,00.html