FIFA Power Rankings: Top 20 National Teams After the First Quarter of 2011
April 1, 2011The first quarter of 2011 is gone. It looks like a good moment to rate the strength and recent form of the National Squads in World Football.
The following ranking takes into account the strength of each team, their results since the World Cup and their position in the World Football Elo Ratings.
However, as with any power rating, there is a certain degree of subjectivity in this list, so we can discuss it in the comments section.
1. Spain
Last FIFA date results
Spain 2-1 Czech Republic (Euro 2012 Qualifying)
Lithuania 1-3 Spain (Euro 2012 Qualifying)
As long as they are the European and World Champions, it will be difficult to move La Furia Roja from the top of any ranking, especially considering they have a perfect pace in the Euro 2012 Qualifying Round.
2. Netherlands
Last FIFA date results
Hungary 0-4 Netherlands (Euro 2012 Qualifying)
Netherlands 5-3 Hungary (Euro 2012 Qualifying)
Scary stat: Netherlands has won 20 of their last 21 official matches. If we included friendly matches, the Oranje has 28 victories, 6 draws and 1 defeat in the last 35 games.
3. Germany
Last FIFA date results
Germany 4-0 Kazakhstan (Euro 2012 Qualifying)
Germany 1-2 Australia (Friendly)
Two days ago I was thinking about placing them higher… and then they lost at home against the Socceroos.
4. Brazil
Last FIFA date results
Brazil 2-0 Scotland (Friendly)
After losing their previous matches against Argentina and France, the Scratch du Oro bounced back with an easy victory against the Scottish squad.
5. Argentina
Last FIFA date results
United States 1-1 Argentina (Friendly)
Costa Rica 0-0 Argentina (Friendly)
La Albiceleste deserved better in both games, but in the end they had to settle with two draws.
6. Portugal
Last FIFA date results
Portugal 1-1 Chile (Friendly)
Portugal 2-0 Finland (Friendly)
The best news for Portugal in these matches was the debut of Ruben Micael, who scored twice against the Finish side.
7. England
Last FIFA date results
Wales 0-2 England (Euro 2012 Qualifying)
England 1-1 Ghana (Friendly)
Fabio Capello’s men are on their way to Poland-Ukraine, although a certain surprise team is making their life a bit more complicated.
8. Uruguay
Last FIFA date results
Estonia 2-0 Uruguay (Friendly)
Ireland 2-3 Uruguay (Friendly)
The World Cup semifinalists were stunned in their visit to Estonia, but bounced back by winning a thrilling match in Dublin.
9. Japan
Last FIFA date results
No activity
Why so high? They won the Asian Cup in January and are undefeated since the World Cup, including victories over Paraguay and Argentina in the second half of 2010. Give them some credit.
10. Ghana
Last FIFA date results
Congo 0-3 Ghana (African Nations Cup 2012 Qualifying)
England 1-1 Ghana (Friendly)
The only African side in the top 20 has started 2011 in a very good way.
11. Chile
Last FIFA date results
Portugal 1-1 Chile (Friendly)
Chile 2-0 Colombia (Friendly)
Great start for the coach Claudio Borghi after the departure of Marcelo Bielsa.
12. Italy
Last FIFA date results
Slovenia 0-1 Italy (Euro 2012 Qualifying)
Ukraine 0-2 Italy (Friendly)
La Squadra Azzurra has quickly forgotten about its failure in South Africa 2010, easily dominating their group in the Euro 2012 Qualifying Round.
13. Mexico
Last FIFA date results
Mexico 3-1 Paraguay (Friendly)
Mexico 1-1 Venezuela (Friendly)
El Tri impressed in its match against Paraguay, especially in the first half, but then disappointed in the game against La Vinotinto.
14. Australia
Last FIFA date results
Germany 1-2 Australia (Friendly)
The Socceroos were the surprise of the past FIFA date, defeating Die Mannschaft in Moenchengladbach.
15. Paraguay
Last FIFA date results
Mexico 3-1 Paraguay (Friendly)
United States 0-1 Paraguay (Friendly)
The team that was close to eliminating Spain in the World Cup had a very bad start of 2011 against Mexico, but bounced back beating the other Concacaf giant.
16. Croatia
Last FIFA date results
Georgia 1-0 Croatia (Euro 2012 Qualifying)
France 0-0 Croatia (Friendly)
Losing against a low-tier side and then getting a draw at the Stade de France explains in part why this team missed South Africa 2010.
17. France
Last FIFA date results
Luxembourg 0-2 France (Euro 2012 Qualifying)
France 0-0 Croatia (Friendly)
Les Bleus are slowly recovering from their embarrassing performance in the past World Cup.
18. United States
Last FIFA date results
United States 1-1 Argentina (Friendly)
United States 0-1 Paraguay (Friendly)
Juan Agudelo’s goal against Argentina was one of the few highlights of the FIFA date for Bob Bradley’s men.
19. Sweden
Last FIFA date results
Sweden 2-1 Moldova (Euro 2012 Qualifying)
The Swedish squad has lost only once in its past 14 matches, and it was against Netherlands in Amsterdam.
20. Montenegro
Last FIFA date results
Montenegro 1-0 Uzbekistan (Friendly)
A potential dark horse in the Euro 2012, this relatively unknown squad is tied with England at the top of their qualifying group… and they already got a 0-0 draw at Wembley.
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