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Football ranking fifa teams. The best football clubs in the world

20 Australia

The first team was assembled for a tour of New Zealand in 1922. During this trip, 3 games were played, the Australian team lost twice and drew one match. In the next 25 years, New Zealand, China and South Africa became regular rivals for test and friendly matches. The geographical isolation of the country has affected the lack of a good experience of international meetings. Only with cheaper air travel Australia is gradually reaching a decent international level. In 2006, the Football Federation of Australia decided to move to the Asian Football Confederation. The reason for this was that FIFA did not want to give Oceania a direct ticket to the World Cup, and the Australians could not get to it, getting into the play-offs on the representatives of South America and losing these play-offs over and over again.

19 France

The French started the qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup very unsuccessfully. In the very first game against Austria in Vienna, the French were unexpectedly defeated with a score of 3: 1 thanks to goals from Mark Janko, René Aufhauser and Andreas Ivanschitz (Sidney Govou scored against the French). This failure was once again the reason for the resignation of Raymond Domenech, who was not going to stop working with the main team of France. In the next round, the French rehabilitated by defeating Serbia with a score of 2: 1 - Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka returned confidence in Domenech, although in stoppage time everything could have ended in collapse after a goal won back, authored by Branislav Ivanovic. But then the sluggish and faded game of the French followed again - an indistinct draw with Romania. The French, losing after goals from Florentin Petre and Dorin Goian, were able to save the match thanks to the efforts of Franck Ribery and Joann Guercuff. After that, for 5 games in a row (!) the French scored exactly one goal in each game. Three games - two against Lithuania and one in the Faroe Islands - ended in victory (in the matches with Lithuania, Franck Ribery scored twice, and Andre-Pierre Gignac brought victory over the Faroe Islands). Then followed another draw with Romania, which had already lost then theoretical chances even for second place, and then a draw with Serbia, which directly got to the 2010 World Cup. Only in the last round did the French defeat the outsiders - the Farreres - with a score of 5:0. Gignac scored twice, Gallas, Anelka and Benzema scored once more. Composition of France in the play-offs In the play-offs, Ireland fell to the French, the matches against which became infamous all over the world. The first match - in Dublin - the French won with a score of 1: 0, Anelka scored the only goal in the 72nd minute. In the second leg in Paris, confusion began. Already in the 33rd minute, the efforts of the Domenech team collapsed - Robbie Keane opened the scoring in the match, after two games the score became 1:1 and now the whole game had to be started anew. Each player who came on as a substitute received a mandatory yellow card in that game. Regular time ended 1-0 to Ireland, and extra time began. The Irish had to be sure to score more than two goals. In the event of a tie in the results of two matches, the Irish would have reached the final part of the championship due to a guest goal. Already in the first additional 15-minutes, the referee from Sweden, Martin Hansson, began to make mistakes - at first, in the 98th minute, Shay Given frankly demolished Nicolas Anelka, but the referee remained silent. He further canceled an offside goal from Sidney Govou. Finally, in the 103rd minute, there was a scandalous episode - after a pass by Florent Malouda, two Frenchmen were immediately offside, and Henry caught a rebound from Kevin Kilbein and picked up the ball with his hand, throwing it to William Gallas. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, and France won 2-1 on aggregate and advanced to the 2010 World Cup finals. Attempts by the Irish to protest the outcome of the game and demands for a replay were rejected despite Thierry Henry's own agreement to replay the match. Despite reaching the 2010 World Cup, many French considered such a hit unworthy. At best, they offered to replay the match. France ended up in Group A in the final, where they played against South Africa, Mexico and Uruguay. The 2010 FIFA World Cup. The final part - games and scandals Already before the start of the tournament in France, it was believed that the national team was doomed to failure - the fact that Raymond Domenech did not take such experienced players as Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri to the championship caused an uproar at the French. Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger was also dissatisfied, who did not recommend William Gallas to go to South Africa. The first match the French had on June 11 in Cape Town against the national team of Uruguay, that game ended in a draw 0:0. The national team noted Yoann Gourcuff as the leader of the attacks. Despite being sent off by the Uruguayans at the end of the game, the Tricolors failed to win.

The Russian football team has almost a century of history of performances at the World and European Championships and the Olympic Games; The football team of the Russian Empire first appeared at the 5th Summer Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912. In the competition, the team played two matches, losing the first of them to the Finnish team in the 1/4 finals with a score of 1:2. The Finnish national team, which at that time was part of the Russian Empire and performed under the Russian tricolor, eventually took 4th place. Then in the so-called "consolation" tournament, Russia suffered its biggest defeat in history, losing to the German team with a score of 0:16.

Current tournament

17 Slovenia

Slovenia played its first official games as part of the qualification tournament for the 1996 European Championship. Then the team took fifth out of six places, although they started with a draw with a strong Italian team, the reigning world vice-champion. The next qualifying round for the 1998 World Cup for the national team ended in failure: in 8 matches, only one draw with Denmark was recorded, the rest of the meetings were lost. The team performed most successfully in the early 2000s. In the qualifying group for Euro 2000, second place was taken, which allowed them to play in the play-offs with Ukraine, which was unexpectedly replayed with a total score of 3:2 on aggregate. In the final tournament, having tied twice with the Yugoslavs (3:3) and Norwegians (0:0) and losing to the Spaniards (1:2), the Slovenes were in last place in the group. Then the team achieved its main achievement: it was selected for the 2002 World Cup. In the qualifying tournament, the team again had to play play-offs, this time with Romania (2:1, 1:1). In Korea, where the Group B matches took place, the Slovenes lost all three matches: 1:3 to the Spaniards and Paraguayans and 0:1 to the South Africans. As part of the subsequent selection for the 2004 European Championship, Slovenia suffered its biggest defeat (0:5 from France), but managed to become second after it in the group, but lost to Croatia in the play-offs (1:1 and 0:1). Failing to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, the team was able to inflict the only defeat in this campaign on the future champion - Italy. Failure befell her in the selection for the 2008 European Championship: the team finished sixth out of seven teams in the group. As part of the play-offs for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the Slovenian national team on November 14, 2009 played away with the Russian national team and lost with a score of 1: 2, and on November 18, 2009, the Slovenians won at home with a score of 1: 0 and left at the 2010 World Cup due to a goal on a foreign field.

Now the Serbs are considered, at best, strong middle peasants of European football, but in their golden era - the 50-60s of the XX century - the Yugoslav team was one of the strongest in the world. Yugoslavia participated in the first four post-war world championships, reaching the quarter-finals twice (1954, 1958), and reaching the semi-finals in 1962, simultaneously reaching the finals of the Olympic Games four times in a row (silver in 1948, 1952, 1956, gold in 1960), whose football tournament was then quoted higher than it is today. In addition, in the 60s, "Plavi" twice reached the finals of the European Championships in 1960 and 1968. After that, Yugoslavia has never achieved such success, except for the last, 4th place taken at the home Euro in 1976.

The Ghana national team is the only national team from the African continent to overcome the qualifying round of the World Cup finals in 2006 and 2010. However, if in 2006 the Africans could not pass the Brazilian team and lost to it in one-eighth, then in 2010 the Ghanaian team went to the one-fourth final, overcoming the US team in one-eighth. Thus, the Ghana team became the third African team after Cameroon and Senegal to play in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

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Japan's first significant achievement in international football was the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, where the team won bronze medals. But although this achievement increased the recognition of football in Japan, the lack of a professional league made its development very difficult and Japan had to wait another 30 years before its first World Cup. In 1991, the owners of the semi-professional Japan Football League agreed to its dissolution and reorganization into a professional J-league in order to raise the prestige of this sport and strengthen the national team. With the formation of a new league in 1993, interest in football and the national team has increased significantly. However, the first attempt to qualify with the help of professional players for the 1994 World Cup ended for Japan in an embarrassing loss of a ticket to the final round at the last moment, when the team failed to beat Iraq in the last qualifying match. This match, which took place on a neutral field in Qatar, was dubbed by Japanese fans as the “Tragedy in Doha”. The first world championship for Japan was the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where it lost all 3 matches. In the first two matches, despite a good level of play, the team lost 0-1 to Argentina and Croatia. And the performance of Japan ended with an unexpected defeat to outsiders from Jamaica with a score of 1-2. Four years later, Japan, along with South Korea, hosted the 2002 World Cup. Despite drawing 2-2 in the first match against Belgium, the team advanced to the next round, beating Russia 1-0 and Tunisia 2-0. However, their promotion ended there and in the 1/8 finals the team lost 0-1 to the future third-place winner of the Turkish national team. On June 8, 2005, Japan qualified for a third consecutive World Cup by beating North Korea 2-0 on a neutral field. However, in Germany, the team failed to win a single match, losing 1-3 to Australia, playing 0-0 with Croatia and losing 1-4 to Brazil. During qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Japan became the first team after the hosts to reach the final round, beating Uzbekistan 1-0 away. Japan beat Cameroon 1-0 in the first match, but lost to Holland in the next game with the same score. In the decisive match, Japan confidently beat Denmark 3-1 and advanced to the next round from second place. In the round of 16, Japan lost on penalties to Paraguay after regular and extra time ended 0-0. Japan managed to achieve much more success in the Asian Cup, where it won 4 tournaments (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011) out of 7 in which it took part. Japan's principal rivals in Asia are South Korea and Saudi Arabia, as well as, after joining the Asian zone, Australia. At the beginning of 2011, Japan took part in its seventh Asian Cup, which was held in Qatar. The team finished first in the group, drawing 1-1 with Jordan and beating Syria 2-1 and Saudi Arabia 5-0. In the quarterfinals, Japan managed to win a strong-willed 3-2 victory over the tournament hosts in the minority. In the 1/2 finals, the Japanese were opposed by their longtime rival - South Korea. The main and extra time of the match ended with a score of 2-2, and in the penalty shoot-out, Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima proved to be the best, repulsing two blows from the Koreans. Australia played against Japan in the final. The main time of the match ended with a score of 0-0, and in overtime, an accurate strike from newcomer Tadanari Lee brought Japan the fourth Asian Cup title. Japan is the only non-American team to have participated in the America's Cup, having been invited there as a guest in 1999 and 2011.

Greece first took part in a major international tournament in 1980 when they entered the final stage of the European Championship. Prior to this, Greek football had only once made itself known, when the Panathinaikos club from Athens reached the final of the European Cup in 1971. But neither participation in the 1980 European Championship, nor the debut in the final stage of the World Championship in 1994 brought much success to the national team, since the team did not manage to leave the groups. Therefore, the victory in the first match of the 2004 European Championship over the hosts of the tournament, the Portuguese (2:1), was first perceived as an accident. However, the Greeks managed to get out of the group, and then in the knockout stage they achieved two victories with a score of 1: 0 (first, the reigning champions, the French, were defeated, and then the main favorites of the tournament, the Czech team in the semifinals, the goal was scored in the last seconds of the match). In the final, Greece again met with Portugal and won again, this time with a “favorite” score of 1:0. Thus, the Greek national team, whose chances at the bookmakers before the start of the tournament were regarded at best as 80 to 1, became the best in Europe. The purely defensive tactics of the team, built by the German coach Otto Rehhagel, were criticized by many. Such tactics seriously affected the entertainment of football, it was viscous and ugly. On the other hand, the German pragmatism was very successfully instilled in the southern players, who previously did not particularly favor discipline. Such a fusion gave the desired result, elevating the football players and the coach in Greece to the rank of national heroes (especially since the Olympic Games began in Athens just a few months later). However, after that the Greek team fell into a certain psychological vacuum and failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, losing to the Ukrainian national team in the qualifying group. A ticket to Euro 2008 was obtained thanks to successful selection tactics, and at the group stage of the upcoming tournament, two of the three rival teams were in the same group with Greece in 2004 - Spain and Russia. Only instead of Portugal, the third opponent in the group is Sweden. This time the Greeks could not jump above their heads and did not score a single point, becoming the worst team in the championship. In 2010, the Greeks played at the World Cup in South Africa, winning in the play-offs against Ukraine. In the final part, the Greeks won for the first time - with a score of 2: 1 against the Nigerian national team, but this was not enough to leave the group.

11 Norway

Football came to Norway from England in the 1880s and soon became a popular sport among the people of the country. Norway's first football club, Christiania was founded in 1885. It took some time for a few more clubs to be organized in the country. At the initiative of the ski and football club Lun, the Norwegian Football Association (NFF) was founded in 1902 by Norwegian football clubs. In the same year, the NFF organizes the Norwegian Football Championship "Norgemestr", and in 1908 the NFF received an invitation from the Swedish Football Association to play a friendly match with the national team of this country.

Olsen currently continues to work with the national team and is trying to get it to the 2012 European Championship. Norway plays in a group with Portugal, Denmark, Cyprus and Iceland. Norway currently leads the group. However, Norway's chances to break through to the EURO, according to experts from Castrol, are no more than 36%.

10 Croatia

Football appeared in Croatia at the end of the 19th century. The first Croatian clubs - PNiSK (Croatian PNiSK (Prvi Nogometni i Sportski Klub), First Football and Sports Club) and HASK (Croatian HAŠK (Hrvatski Akademski Športski Klub, Croatian Academic Sports Club) - were founded in 1903 year. Both clubs were based in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. Three years later, it was these teams that played the first football match in Croatia reflected in official documents. The meeting ended in a draw - 1:1. Interest in football gradually increased. Other clubs soon appeared, such as Slavia Trsat (1905), Concordia Zagreb (1906), Segesta Sisak (1907), Croacia Zagreb (1907), Hajduk Split (1911) and Gradjanski Zagreb (1911) The national team debuted on the international scene, so far unofficially, in 1907 with two matches against the Czech club Slavia from Prague. It should be noted that at that time the territory of Croatia was part of Austria-Hungary, but in sports competitions the peoples that made up the empire were represented separately. Five years later, in 1912, the Croatian Football Union was founded, which in the same year organized the first national league. The first champion of the country was the club "HASK" Zagreb. At the end of the First World War, after the accession of Croatia to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (abbr. - KShS, since 1929 - the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), the Football Union of Yugoslavia was created, which became the main football governing body for all three national teams. The Croatian, the former president of "HASK" Hinko Wurth became the president of the union. In the first draw of the championship of Yugoslavia (1923), he won the Croatian club Grajanski from Zagreb, which subsequently became the champion four more times (in 1926, 1928, 1937 and 1940). In addition, Hajduk Split (1927 and 1929), Concordia Zagreb (1930 and 1932), as well as HASK Zagreb (1938) won the national championship. Teams from Croatia played in the Yugoslav championship until 1940.

The first major tournament in which the Croatian national team took part was the 1996 European Football Championship. Croatia made it to the finals of the 4th qualifying group, finishing first with 23 points (7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss). Further, in the final part of the championship, the team took second place in Group D and, with 2 wins and 1 loss from Portugal, went to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, the Croatian team lost to the German team with a score of 1:2. The next significant step for the team was the performance at the 1998 World Cup. In the qualifying tournament, the team took second place after the Danish team and in the play-offs for reaching the final part of the tournament fought with the Ukrainian team. The Croatians won the home match 2:0, and in Kyiv they were able to achieve a draw that suited them - 1:1. At the group stage of the final part of the World Cup, Croatia finished second in Group H, passing ahead of the Argentina national team and ahead of the newcomers of the tournament - the teams of Japan and Jamaica. In the 1/8 finals, the Croatian national team beat Romania 1-0, Davor Šuker scored from the penalty spot. In the quarterfinals, the Croats managed to win a major victory over the German national team, which conceded three unanswered goals into its own net. In the semi-finals, the Croats lost to the future world champions the French (1:2), winning during the match after another goal from Shuker. A consolation for the debutants of the World Championships was the third place won by the Dutch with a score of 2:1. Croatian striker Davor Šuker became the best sniper of this tournament with six goals scored. After such success, the performance in the qualifying tournament for the European Championship in 2000 turned out to be disappointing for the Croatian national team. In the qualifying group, the team took only third place, losing to the national teams of Ireland and Yugoslavia. Mirko Jozic, who replaced Miroslav Blazhevich as head coach of the national team in 2000, managed to cope with the generational change that had come in the team. The qualifying tournament for the 2002 World Cup was won from the first place in the group, in which the Croats were ahead of the teams of Belgium and Scotland. However, in the final tournament held in Japan and Korea, the Croatian team could not even make it out of the group. Even the victory over Italy (2:1) did not help her in this - in the final match in the group, the Croats lost to the Ecuador national team (0:1) and remained only third, letting the Italians and the Mexican national team go ahead. Between October 17, 1990 and June 7, 2006, the Croatian national team played 145 international matches with the following results: 72 wins, 43 draws and 30 losses. The national team was recognized by FIFA as the "Breakthrough of the Year" in 1994 and 1998.

Italian football is traditionally considered defensive. The team plays on counterattacks, while usually not scoring a lot of goals, but not conceding either. The Italians, leading in the score, control the match, forcing the enemy to open positions. The gates of the national team are protected by high-class masters. The defensive tactics of the Italians in the 1960s, called "Catenaccio", was an example to follow for many teams. It is rarely used nowadays, but if you look at the game pattern of the national team, you can see the roots of this system. Too much passion for defense often led the team to failures in major championships. However, in combination with a brilliant attack, the game from the defense brought Italy into the lists of the strongest teams (second place after Brazil in terms of achievements in the World Championships).

8 Portugal

The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in international football tournaments and friendly matches. For the first time, the Portuguese national team participated in the World Cup in 1966. After losing in the semi-finals to the future world champions England, the Portuguese took 3rd place. The next time Portugal qualified for the World Cup was only in 1986 and again in 2002, having been eliminated both times after the group stage of the tournament. In 2003, Luis Felipe Scolari, former coach of the 2002 world champions Brazil, was appointed head coach of Portugal. Scolari led Portugal to the final of the European Championship in 2004, where they lost to Greece, and also reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2006. In 2008, after the European Championship, Scolari left the Portuguese national team for Chelsea. In 2008, Carlos Queiroz was appointed as the new head coach of Portugal. On June 21, 2010, in the championship held in South Africa, the Portuguese team scored 7 goals against the DPRK team. This victory brought a new record for Portugal in goals scored in one match in the World Cups. Previously, the record was 5 goals scored against the DPRK team in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 1966. As of February 2, 2011, the team is ranked 8th in the FIFA rankings.

7 Uruguay

The Uruguay national football team represents Uruguay in international football tournaments and friendly matches. Controlled and administered by the Football Association of Uruguay. In terms of achievements, the Uruguay national team is one of the most titled teams in the history of football. In the 20th century, Uruguay won 19 international football titles, more than any other country in the world; owns this record, now together with Argentina. This success is especially noteworthy because it was achieved by a team representing a very small state. With a current population of approximately 3,400,000, Uruguay is the smallest country to ever win a World Cup or even be among its medalists. Only six national teams with a population smaller than Uruguay have ever participated in the final stages of the world championships - Northern Ireland (3 times), Slovenia (2 times), Wales, Kuwait, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago (all once). The population of Argentina, the second smallest country to win world championships, exceeds that of Uruguay by more than ten times. Uruguay is also the smallest member country of CONMEBOL, the South American Football Confederation. At the same time, the team achieved victory in the championships of South America 14 times - a record that it shares with Argentina.

at the Olympic Games and become the first world champions. English workers brought football to Uruguay at the end of the 19th century. The game soon became the national sport of the small state. It was thanks to the Uruguayans that the English kick and rush style acquired modern forms of a combination game. Footballers of Uruguay used dribbling, short passing, fast counter-attacking game. The Uruguay national team won a number of South American tournaments in the first decades of the 20th century, competing on equal terms with their main opponent of those years, the Argentine national team. In 1924, the Uruguayans were able to show their highest level of play on the world stage. A team consisting of ordinary workers - butchers, shoe shiners and shopkeepers - went to the third class in France to participate in the Olympic Games. The trip was funded by donations and benefit friendly matches played along the way. Arriving in Paris, the Urus held a tournament in brilliant style and defeated Switzerland 3-0 in the final. How much South American football is stronger than European football was once again demonstrated in 1928 at the Amsterdam Olympics. In the final, eternal rivals Uruguay and Argentina faced each other. Only in the extra game, the Urus managed to win over the Argentines 2:1.

By that time, it became clear that football had to reach a new level, and it was decided to hold the first World Cup. After much debate among FIFA members, the honor of hosting the first championship was given to Uruguay, which in 1930 was about to celebrate 100 years of independence. As a result, a number of leading European teams boycotted the championship. Only 4 teams arrived from Europe on ships. The hostess of the field and the favorite team of Uruguay became the first world champion. She beat Argentina 4-2 in the final, once again confirming her superiority over her neighbors. The best players of the "golden squad" of the national team were Jose Nasassi and the legendary "black pearl" Jose Leandro Andrade. In the next two World Cups in Italy and France, Uruguay did not participate, thereby responding to the boycott of European teams in 1930. The first post-war World Cup in 1950 was held in Brazil. The hosts of the field were considered the favorites of the championship. In the decisive match, the teams of Brazil and Uruguay met. The Brazilians were satisfied with a draw. The Uruguayans showed an uncertain game during the championship, but in the last match, losing along the way to the home team, they pulled out a 2-1 victory in the last minutes. The defeat shocked the Brazilian fans. Three people died at the stadium from a heart attack, one committed suicide. In neighboring Uruguay, a holiday reigned again. This match was later called "Maracanasa."

The national team of Uruguay achieved the greatest success in the world championships in the "round" years: 1930 and 1950 - world champions, 1970 and 2010 - reaching the semi-finals. The exception is 1954, when the Uruguayan team also played in the semi-finals. It is also interesting that Uruguay won the last victory over the European team 40 years ago (1970), when it beat the USSR team 1:0 in the 1/4 finals.

The success of 1950 was the last achievement of this level. For a long time, the Uruguayans could not, as before, compete with the strongest teams in the world. Former innovators of football style in a certain period paid too much attention to defensive tactics and tough selection. Three more times the team reached the semi-finals, taking 4th place as a result (1954, 1970, 2010). In 1980, Uruguay won the Mundialito, or Golden Cup of World Cup Champions, a tournament dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the first World Cup, also held in Montevideo. In the final, Celeste defeated the Brazilian national team with a score of 2: 1, repeating the result of Maracanazo. In 1986, in the subgroup of the world championship, the Uruguayans were defeated by the Danes 1:6. In 2010, after 40 years, the Uruguay national team returned to the world football elite, reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup in South Africa. The Uruguayans broke several unsuccessful series at once that had pursued them in recent years - they were able to win several victories during one tournament, go beyond the 1/8 final stage, etc. The leader of the Uruguayans, striker Diego Forlan, was recognized as the best player in the 2010 World Cup. the decline of recent decades, the Uruguay national team in terms of achievements is still one of the most successful teams in the world (5th place after Brazil, Italy, Germany, Argentina). At the America's Cup, Uruguay shows consistently high results, almost always reaching the semi-final stage (from the last tournaments 1999 - final, 2001 and 2007 - 4th place, 2004 - 3rd place). In home matches, the team actually does not suffer defeats, and if the tournament is held in Montevideo, it becomes the owner of the cup (the last time in 1995). Often the reason for the relative decline in the last decade (apart from a fairly consistent performance in the America's Cup, although here Uruguay has not been champion since 1995) is the lack of a world-class central midfielder. The Uruguayan national team has a large number of excellent forwards, flank and defensive (defensive) midfielders, defenders, but the so-called "passers" of the level of Enzo Francescoli and Pablo Bengoechea, who shone in the 1990s, are not yet in Uruguay. Therefore, the national team often lacks composure and a single goal in matches with obviously weaker opponents. In 2010, at the World Cup in South Africa, Uruguay did not concede a single goal in their group A, drawing with France (0: 0), winning against the hosts of the championship, the South African team (3: 0) and the Mexican team (1: 0). In the 1/8 finals, the Uruguayans defeated South Korea (2:1), and in the 1/4 finals, Uruguay met with Ghana. The Ghanaians opened the scoring in the stoppage time of the first half, but in the 55th minute Forlan equalized the score. A few minutes before the end of the match, the goalkeeper of the Musler national team made a mistake, and the ball flew into an empty net. However, Suarez beat him off with his hands, for which he received a red card, and the penalty kick against Uruguay was not implemented. In a series of post-match 11-meter kicks, Uruguay won 4:2 and for the first time in many years was able to reach the semi-finals, where they lost to the Netherlands (2:3). In the match for 3rd place, where he met with the German national team, Uruguay led with a score of 2: 1, but due to the grossest mistakes of the defenders, he missed 2 goals and took only 4th place. In the official FIFA ranking on July 14, 2010, the team took a very high 6th place.

At the World Championships, Uruguay met twice with the USSR national team. In 1962, the Uruguayans, who needed a victory to reach the 1/4 finals, despite all efforts, were defeated by the Soviet team 1:2. However, in 1970, in the 1/4 finals, the Uruguayans were able to win over the USSR national team, scoring the only goal in extra time.

The England team, along with the Scottish team, is the oldest national football team in the world. The first match between England and Scotland, organized by the Football Association of England, took place on March 5, 1870. The return match, organized by the Scots, took place on November 30, 1872. The 1872 match is considered to be the first official international football match as each team was governed independently of the other, unlike the first match in 1870 when the FA controlled both teams. For the next forty years, the England team played exclusively with three other "home teams": Scotland, Wales and Ireland. These matches became official after the organization of the British Home Championship, which was played from 1883 to 1984. Prior to the opening of Wembley Stadium, England did not have their own home stadium. In 1906 England entered FIFA and in 1908 played their first match outside the British Isles. Growing tensions between the British football organizations and FIFA led to the withdrawal of all British teams from FIFA in 1928. In 1946, the British teams returned to FIFA again. As a result, England did not take part in the World Cups until 1950. At the 1954 World Cup, Ivor Broadis scored two goals against the Belgian national team, becoming the first author of the "double" in the English team in the World Cup finals. Nat Lofthouse scored two more goals in this match, and the meeting ended in a draw with a score of 4:4. England lost 4-2 to Uruguay in the quarter-finals. Walter Winterbottom was appointed as England's first head coach in 1946, but under him the squad for the match was still determined by a select committee. In 1963, Alf Ramsey became the head coach of the national team, who received full control over the team. Under Ramsey, England won the 1966 World Cup by beating West Germany 4-2 in the final (Jeffrey Hurst scored a hat-trick in the final match). At the 1970 World Cup, England reached the quarter-finals, where they lost to the German national team with a score of 3: 2. England did not participate in the 1974 and 1978 World Cups without qualifying. In 1982, England, under the leadership of Ron Greenwood, after a 12-year break, qualified for the World Cup held in Spain, but withdrew from the tournament after the second round without losing a single match. Under Bobby Robson, England reached the quarter-finals at the 1986 World Cup and finished 4th at the 1990 World Cup. This is the only time that England have gone through the quarter-finals of the World Cup without being the hosts of the tournament. In the 1990s, four specialists were replaced as head coach of the England national team. Graham Taylor succeeded Bobby Robson but stepped down after failing to lead England to the 1994 World Cup. At Euro 96 England, under the management of Terry Venables, England reached the semi-finals. Venables was replaced by Glenn Hoddle, under whom England played only one international tournament - the 1998 World Cup - from which the British were eliminated after the second round. After Hoddle's resignation, Kevin Keegan took charge of the national team, who led the team to Euro 2000, in which the British performed unsuccessfully. Keegan soon retired. From 2001 to 2006, Swede Sven-Göran Eriksson was the head coach of the national team. Under his leadership, England played in two World Cups and Euro 2004. After the 2006 World Cup, Steve McLaren was appointed head coach of the national team. Under his leadership, England failed to qualify for Euro 2008. On November 22, 2007, McLaren was fired after only 16 months as head coach. On December 14, 2007, Italian specialist Fabio Capello was appointed head coach of England. In the first match under his leadership, which took place on February 6, 2008, the British defeated the Swiss national team with a score of 2: 1. In the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, England won all but one of their matches. A 5-1 victory over Croatia at Wembley, two rounds before the end of the qualifying tournament, ensured the British reached the final of the World Cup.

5 Argentina

The Argentine national team played its first match with the Uruguay team on May 16, 1901 and completed it in their favor 3-2. According to another version, the match took place on July 20, 1902 and ended with the victory of the Argentines with a score of 6-0. Until 1928, the Argentina national team played only within South America. The team played the first match outside their native continent in Lisbon with the team of Portugal (0-0).

Pre World Cup 2002

2 Holland

The prototype of the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) appeared already in 1879. However, the Dutch played their first international game on 30 April 1905. In their debut match, the Oranges achieved a convincing victory (4: 1) over the Belgians on the road, and Eddy de Neve recorded all four goals of the team at his own expense. Bronze medalists at the 1908 and 1912 Olympic Games, the Dutch did not take part in the first ever World Championship in 1930. In 1934 and 1938, the Dutch national team already fought for the right to be called the strongest, but in the first case, the Orange lost to the Swiss in the first round, and then failed to break the resistance of Czechoslovakia. During the Second World War, the country suffered quite a lot, and many football players signed contracts with foreign clubs. For this, in accordance with the decision of the FAKN, they were excluded from the ranks of the national team. The debate over professionalism was finally resolved in 1954. At the turn of the 60s and 70s, the Dutch managed to build one of the greatest teams in the history of world football. Legendary players such as Johan Cruyff, Johan Neeskens and Ruud Krol took to the pitch in orange. [edit] 1970s At the 1974 World Cup (Germany), the Dutch (led by the brilliant Johann Cruyff), who introduced the world to a new, "total" football, almost everyone predicted victory. Nevertheless, in the final, the Oranges lost to the German team with a score of 1: 2, and at the Continental Championship in 1976 they were content with only bronze medals. In the final of the 1978 World Cup (Argentina), the Dutch were once again severely disappointed. The Argentines took the lead in the final - Mario Kempes opened the scoring in the first half, but in the 82nd minute, Dick Nanninga equalized the scales with an accurate header. Seconds before the end of regular time, Rensenbrink hit the post, and in extra time Argentina scored two unanswered goals, and the "orange" got the second place and the title of "five minutes to the champions". The defeat in the decisive match from the Argentines with a score of 1:3 largely predetermined the inexpressive performance at the 1980 European Championship (after it, the Orange had to wait another 8 years for the next final). [edit] UEFA EURO 1988 On that day, all of Germany dressed up in orange. On June 25, 1988, over 50 thousand fans of the Netherlands national team gathered at the 70,000th Olympiastadion in Munich - they supported their favorites in the final match of the European Championship against the USSR national team. In a state of euphoria after the 2-1 victory in Hamburg over the Germans, four days later in Munich, the Dutch fans amazed Europe with posters that read: "On the eighth day God created Marco." In the final, the Oranges faced the USSR national team, which beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the group stage match. To the surprise of many, the wards of Rinus Michels did not start the decisive meeting very well. Nevertheless, the captain of the Netherlands national team Ruud Gullit was the first to score, reassuring his teammates a little. In the 30th minute, Erwin Koeman took a corner, van Basten touched the ball, and it flew off to the oncoming Gullit, who with a powerful header hit Rinat Dasaev - 1:0. Then, in the second half, the outcome of the match was brilliantly decided by the "orange". 37-year-old Arnold Muhren left-footed a 50-meter pass to van Basten, and the legendary striker from virtually zero angle hit the far "nine" with a volley, doubling the advantage of the Netherlands national team. This goal is still considered one of the most beautiful ever scored at this level. At the end of the second half there was a key episode of the game. Goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen organized an optional own penalty, giving Igor Belanov a great chance to turn the game around. However, the goalkeeper immediately corrected himself, repelling the strike of the Dynamo Kiev forward from the “point” and inspiring his partners. That match ended with the score 2:0. The Dutch have finally broken a 14-year losing streak during which they lost twice in World Cup finals. Due to the conflicts that torn the team apart from the inside, the Dutch failed to achieve serious successes at the world championships in 1990 and 1994 and the 1992 European Championship, which gave rise to talk about the not fully disclosed potential, no doubt, a powerful squad. [edit] At the turn of the century, the quarter-finalists of Euro-96, for the 1998 World Cup (France), the Dutch again created a combat-ready team. However, neither Patrick Kluivert, nor Edgar Davids, nor Dennis Bergkamp could bring the national team to the final - in the semi-finals of the tournament, the "orange" lost to the Brazilians. After the quarter-final and semi-final gatherings in previous years, the hosts of Euro 2000 were entitled to count on success. However, this time Holland's way to the final was blocked by the Italian national team, who prevailed over the "orange" in the shoot-out (this match was remembered for the record number of missed penalties - 2 in regular time, 4 in the post-match series). [edit] World Cup 2002 Failure befell the Dutch team in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup - the "orange" did not get to Korea / Japan at all, letting Portugal and Ireland go ahead (the latter reached the final of the championship, defeating Iran in the play-offs) . The reason for this performance was lost points in matches with Portugal and Ireland - Holland tied with each of the teams with the same score 2:2 and lost the return matches - 0:1 to Ireland and 0:2 to Portugal. After a disastrous campaign, head coach Louis van Gaal was fired. [edit] EURO 2004 But in qualifying for EURO 2004, the Dutch played better - they finished second, only behind the Czech Republic. In the play-offs, the Dutch at first sensationally lost to Scotland 0:1, but in the next match they took a convincing revenge 6:0. In the final part, the Dutch again met with the Czech Republic. They also included the silver medalist of the last World Championship Germany and the debutant of international competitions Latvia. The Dutch played the first match with Germany and drew 1:1 - they answered the goal of Torsten Frings with an accurate shot by Ruud van Nistelrooy. In the next match against the Czechs, they led 2-0 after goals from Wilfred Bouma and Ruud van Nistelrooy, but Jan Koller, Milan Baros and Vladimir Šmicer gave the Czech Republic a sensational victory. The Netherlands no longer had the right to lose points and in the decisive group match they smashed Latvia to smithereens - Roy Makay and Ruud Van Nistelrooy scored (the latter made a double and converted a penalty). In the quarterfinals, the Oranges faced Sweden. Regular time ended in a goalless draw, there were also no goals in extra time. Everything was decided by a penalty shoot-out, where Edwin van der Sar parried Olof Mellberg's shot, and Arjen Robben scored the winning penalty. In the semi-finals, the Dutch lost to the hosts of the championship - the Portuguese - with a score of 1: 2 and won bronze medals on a par with the Czech Republic. [edit] The 2006 World Cup The Netherlands won the 2006 World Cup qualifying tournament, finishing first and leaving behind familiar Czechs, Romanians, Finns, Macedonians, Armenians and Andorrans. The Dutch lost points only 2 times - twice tied with Macedonia (0:0, 2:2). In the final, they were in a group with Argentina, Côte d'Ivoire and the team of Serbia and Montenegro (it held its last tournament as a single team. From the next season, Serbia and Montenegro played as independent teams). The Dutch played the first match against the Serbs and won with a score of 1: 0 - a goal on Robben's account. The second match against Côte d'Ivoire - a newcomer to the World Cup - the Dutch also won with a score of 2: 1. Robin van Persie and Ruud van Nistelrooy scored, the return goal was scored by Bakary Kone. The last match ended in a draw with Argentina 0:0. The Dutch and Argentines scored the same number of points, but due to the better difference of goals scored and conceded, Argentina became the first, and Holland - the second. In the 1/8 finals, the Dutch played with the Portuguese and lost to them 0:1 - Manishe scored. That match became known to the whole world, as the Russian referee Valentin Ivanov showed 16 yellow cards there, four of which turned into red ones. After the match, a flurry of criticism fell upon the referee, but then FIFA President Sepp Blatter apologized and recognized the referee's actions as legitimate. [edit] UEFA EURO 2008 The Dutch had a successful UEFA EURO 2008 qualifier, finishing second in Group G with 26 points. They allowed themselves to concede only once, losing in Minsk to the Belarusians with a score of 1:2, but this happened in the last match when Holland had already qualified for the championship. The Netherlands were placed in group C, dubbed the "group of death" - there were reigning world champion Italy, world vice-champion France and returning to major tournaments Romania. Before the tournament, Dutch forward Ryan Babel was injured, and the team's coach Marco van Basten urgently called Khalid Boulahruz. The Dutch won in all matches with a total score of 9:1 (3:0 over Italy, 4:1 over France and 2:0 over Romania). However, in the quarterfinals, the Dutch unexpectedly lost to the Russian team with a score of 1:3. [edit] 2010 World Cup The Netherlands had a great qualifier, winning all 8 matches in their group. On June 6, 2009, by defeating Iceland 2-1 away, the Netherlands team became the first European team to secure participation in the final tournament of the 2010 World Cup. They reached the final without suffering a single defeat, but in the final on July 11 they lost Spain 0-1 after extra time. The leader of the team and the man who helped the team reach the final was Wesley Sneijder, who scored 5 goals at the World Cup.

1 Spain

The Spanish national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de España) is the team that represents Spain in international football matches and tournaments. Managed and controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Current European and World Champion. The Spanish football league is one of the strongest in the world. It is attended by such eminent clubs as Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Sevilla, Valencia and others, in which the most famous players in the world play, but it is very difficult for many Spanish players to break into the main squad of their clubs, which has a bad effect on the game of the Spanish national team. In addition, the inhabitants of the kingdom are historically divided into warring camps, which is also a negative factor for the morale of the national team players and fans. Some players refuse to play for the Spanish national team, many fans do not attend matches of the national team, preferring to cheer only for their local clubs. For many decades, Spanish football has been in a continuous crisis. The team, as a rule, went through qualifying tournaments for the final stages of the World and European Championships, but did not stay at the championships for a long time and did not rise above the 1/4 finals. Therefore, it began to be attributed to the most unfortunate European teams. However, the Spanish national team became the champion of the European Football Tournament 2008 without losing a single match in the final round of the championship. In July 2008, Spain reached the top spot of the FIFA Team Rankings, becoming the first team in history to never win the FIFA World Cup. On July 11, 2010, after beating the Netherlands 1-0 in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final, the Spanish team became the world champion. Andres Iniesta scored the only goal.

Early years Following the model of the Football Association of England, in 1909 Spain created its own organization, the Royal Spanish Football Federation. The debut of the Spanish national team took place at the Olympic Games in Antwerp in 1920, where the team won silver. The team played their first home international match in 1921 with Belgium, winning 2-0. At the 1934 World Cup in Italy, the team reached the 1/4 finals. [edit] 1950 - 4th place in the World Cup After the Spanish Civil War and World War II, at the World Cup in 1950, the team won a successful victory in the qualifying and group stages, entering the final group, along with Uruguay, Brazil and Sweden. According to the regulations of the 1950 event, the team that took first place in the final group received gold; silver and bronze - the teams that took second and third place in the group, respectively. Then the national team of Uruguay won gold for the second time. Spain, losing to Brazil (6:1) and Sweden (3:1), and having played with the national team of Uruguay in a draw (2:2), took 4th place in the group. This was Spain's best performance at the World Championships until 2010. This was followed by a long break, and only in 1962 the team was again able to qualify for participation in the World Cup. [edit] 1964 - victory in the European Championship Under the leadership of José Villalonga, the team hosted the European Championship, defeating the USSR national team in the final and for the first time receiving such a significant international title. [edit] 1976-1988. The era of Gordillo Further, until 1978, the team failed to take part in the world tournament. Unfortunately, at the group stage, everything ended. In 1976, Spain was chosen to host the 1982 World Cup. The team did not live up to expectations, reaching only the second round of the competition. The 1984 European Championship brought the team the title of vice-champion when Spain lost in the final to the hosts and favorites of the tournament, the French team. Having taken part in the 1986 World Cup, Spain reached the quarterfinals for the second time. [edit] 1985-1998. The era of Zubizarreta Having passed the group stage of the 1990 World Cup, the team stopped at the 1/8 finals. The failure to qualify for the 1992 European Championships was offset by a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics. Spain reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the third time in 1994. The team repeated the same result two years later at Euro 96. The 1998 World Cup ended for Spain in the group stage. [edit] 2008 - present. Gold of the European and World Championships A real holiday for the national team of Spain was the victory at the European Championships in 2008, when the team beat Germany 1:0 in the final. Fernando Torres scored the winning goal. This was Spain's most significant achievement since the 1964 victory. In the opening match of the group stage of the 2010 World Cup against the Swiss national team, the Spaniards sensationally lost with a score of 0: 1, although throughout the game they had the advantage, inflicting 23 shots on the Confederates' goal. Switzerland sent the ball towards the gates of the Spaniards 8 times, one of which Iker Casillas had to get out of the net. After this misfire, the team began to play better from match to match and for the first time in its history reached the final of the World Cup, where they beat the Netherlands with a score of 1: 0, becoming the world champion. The goal was scored by Andres Iniesta in the 116th minute. Characteristics Playing style of the national team: hard, attacking, playing short and long passes. The weak point of the team is an insufficiently stable defense; in the attack, the Spaniards do not always have enough impulsiveness and penetrating power. The Spaniards repeatedly and with varying degrees of success were participants in the post-match penalties. A strong quality of the team is the technicality of all team players. It is typical to use tactics with one forward, for example, 4-2-3-1. Literals are actively involved in attacks. Often the team plays without pronounced wingers.

    In key international competitions, the UEFA club rating plays a crucial role, which directly affects the distribution of teams. This list includes the most up-to-date calculations for each football club. It allows you to make a grid of teams as objectively as possible when drawing European cups. Also, thanks to this rating, we can form a visual top of the best football clubs at the moment!
    World Best Clubs List 2018

    # Club The country Overall coefficient
    1 "Real" Spain 162
    2 "Atletico" Spain 140
    3 Bayern Germany 135
    4 Barcelona Spain 132
    5 Juventus Italy 126
    6 "Seville" Spain 113
    7 PSG France 109
    8 Man City England 100
    9 "Arsenal L" England 93
    10 "Borussia D" Germany 89

    As you can see, the best football club in the world as of the summer of 2018 is Real Madrid, which has been confidently holding its position for several seasons in a row. This significant achievement was made possible thanks to the super-successful performances of the "creamy" in the Champions League. In the main tournament of Europe, the Galacticos have won three “big-eared” trophies in a row in recent years, and previously consistently reached the late stages of the playoffs. That is why Real Madrid is deservedly the best football club in the world!

    You can find a detailed list of the top 100 best clubs in 2018 at the end of this text. The rating of football clubs is regularly updated. Recalculation takes place automatically at the end of each tournament round.

    What is the UEFA football club rating? Based on the top list, a basket is determined into which a particular club falls into during the draw for the group stage of the European Cup competitions.
    It is in this way that it is decided who will go to the sowing. It is worth recognizing that this is a great incentive. The higher the personal rating, the better the chances of getting into rivals with a weaker team, avoiding hitting the best clubs in world football. As a result, the chances of getting into the playoff stage are significantly increased. This is not only the main goal of each tournament participant, but also brings additional income to the club treasury. And, what is also important, it increases the current euro coefficient, allowing you to place in the ranking of football clubs in 2018 as high as possible.

    Counting Rules

    How do UEFA analysts calculate the ranking of the best football clubs in the world? The coefficient of each club is displayed according to the success of its performances in the international arena - in the Champions League and the Europa League. All data for the last 5 seasons are taken into account, the total calculation of which gives the final coefficient. 1/5th of the coffe earned by the national association to which the particular team belongs is added to the results obtained. Accordingly, the higher the overall score, the closer to the top of the top football clubs this or that team is located.
    The ranking of football clubs is compiled as follows. UEFA uses a specially designed gradation for scoring points. For Champions League and LE it is different. And all because the strongest play in the Champions League, including the best football club of our time - Real Madrid.

    Champions League

    Points in this tournament are awarded as follows:
    0.5 points - if the team is eliminated in the 1st qualifying round;
    1 point - if the team is eliminated in the 2nd qualifying round;
    4 points - automatic accrual to all participants of the group round;


    4 points - automatic accrual for reaching the playoffs;
    1 point - for passing to each subsequent stage of the playoffs (1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and final).

    Europa League

    LE is considered the second most powerful tournament held under the auspices of UEFA (however, the best football clubs also meet there). Accordingly, the “cost” of achievements in it is estimated to be slightly lower than in the Champions League:
    0.25 points - if the team is eliminated in the 1st qualifying round;
    0.5 points - if the team is eliminated in the 2nd qualifying round;
    1 point - if the team is eliminated in the 3rd qualifying round;
    1.5 points - if the team is relegated to the playoffs of the qualification;
    2 points - automatic accrual to all participants of the group round;
    2 points - for winning a group match;
    1 point - for a draw in a group match;
    1 point - for passing to each subsequent stage of the playoffs, starting from the 1/4 finals.

    The calculation methodology has recently undergone some changes. Until 2008, 33 percent of the total points of the club association were added to the club coefficient, and before 2004 - as much as 50%. Through analysis and discussions in the press, this percentage was gradually reduced to the current value. This is how it turns out to determine the top football clubs in the world.

    The ranking of the strongest teams in the world in football is determined based on the FIFA ranking. This system has existed since 1993, determining the strength of the national teams at the moment. Over the years, it has changed several times, and in June 2018 it was announced that after the World Cup a fundamentally new rating system will be introduced, which has not yet been presented. So for now, when determining the leaders of world football, you can focus on the latest version of the FIFA rankings and the results of the recently ended World Cup in Russia.

    1. France

    The French team is currently considered the strongest team in the world in football. Success in Russia was the second victory in the history of the French at the world championships. At the same time, in the FIFA ranking before the start of the tournament, the team took only seventh place.

    France confidently held the qualifying tournament in Group A. The start, of course, was not the most impressive (0:0 in Belarus), but then 4 victories in a row followed. Didier Deschamps' squad had the only misfire in the away match with the Swedes, losing 1:2. But this did not prevent her from confidently taking first place in the group.

    At the world championship, the French went through the group stage without nerves, beating the national teams of Australia (2:1) and Peru (1:0) and drawing with the Danes. This result again brought them victory in the preliminary stage.

    In the 1/8 finals, the French were opposed by the Argentina national team, led by Lionel Messi. But the charisma of one leader was not enough, even though the match turned out to be one of the most outstanding. It ended with the score 4:3 in favor of the French. At the next stage, Uruguay was defeated (2:0), and then Belgium (1:0).

    In the final, the French confidently outplayed the Croats 4:2, winning the world title for the second time. Now you know which is the strongest football team in the world.

    2. Croatia

    As we have already told in this article, in the decisive match of the 2018 World Cup, the French were opposed by the Croats. Their getting into the final was a real sensation, so now they are rightfully ranked among the strongest teams in the World Cup. At the same time, in the FIFA ranking before the start of the tournament, she was only in 20th place.

    Interestingly, the qualifying tournament was not easy for the Croats. Having lost away to the national teams of Iceland and Turkey, they took only the second place in the group and were forced to make their way to the world championship through the joints. They got the Greeks as rivals. The future victors of the world championship removed almost all questions about the winner already in the first match, defeating opponents 4:1. There were no goals in the return game.

    At the World Cup in Russia, Croatia was seriously noticed when in the second round it left no chance for the Argentina national team, winning 3:0. In the playoffs, the Croats were lucky: they won two shootouts (against Denmark and Russia), and in the semi-finals they defeated the English in extra time. Despite the defeat in the final, he became the most successful in the history of this team.

    3. Belgium

    The Belgian team was also among the strongest teams in the World Cup. This was expected, because in the FIFA rankings it was in third place.

    In the qualifying tournament, the Belgians lost points only once, drawing at home with the Greeks. The victories in the remaining matches ensured them the first place in the group. At the world championship, the team defeated Panama (3:0), Tunisia (5:2) and England (1:0).

    In the 1/8 finals, they were challenged by the Japanese, who lost in a dramatic confrontation with a score of 2:3. In the 1/4 finals, the Belgians triumphantly outplayed the Brazilians (2:1) and only France was able to stop their victorious march.

    Wards of Roberto Martinez won the match for third place, becoming one of the strongest national football teams in the world.

    4. England

    In this ranking there was a place for the British. In their history, they only once became world champions (back in 1966), without getting into the finals after that and only once playing in 1/2. This time everything went well for them, they entered the list of the strongest teams in the world in football, even despite the 12th place in the FIFA ranking before the tournament.

    In the qualifying tournament, the wards did not experience any problems - 8 wins, 2 draws and first place in the group. At the world championship in Russia, they secured a place in the playoffs after the second round, defeating Tunisia (2:1) and Panama (6:1).

    In the 1/8 finals, they managed to defeat the Colombians only on penalties, but in the 1/4 finals, the Swedes were outplayed, as they say, in the class 2:0. Only an extra-time loss to Croatia for the second time in history stopped them from reaching the final. At the same time, the British once again confirmed that they can be considered one of the strongest teams in the world of football.

    But what about the leaders?

    The strongest team in the world in football before the Russian championship, according to the FIFA rating, was the German national team.

    At the World Cup, it immediately became clear that the Germans had serious problems. It all started with their 0-1 loss to Mexico, then they defeated the Swedes 2-1 with a decisive free-kick goal in stoppage time. To qualify from the group, they needed to beat the outsider of the quartet, the South Korean team, in the final meeting.

    The Germans created a lot of scoring chances at the gates of the Asians, but the ball stubbornly did not go into the net. In the end, they made a decisive assault, as a result of which they received two goals in their own net. After this defeat, they took only the last place in the group, continuing the sinister tradition of recent years, when the winner of the previous world championship at the next can not even reach the playoffs.

    Brazilian failure

    Another team that retired unusually early is Brazil. In the FIFA rankings before the start of the tournament, she was in second place.

    True, unlike the Germans, she was able to leave the group, even though it all started with a draw against the Swiss team.

    In the 1/8 finals, the five-time world champions defeated Mexico 2-0, but in the quarterfinals they could not cope with the Belgian team. The stars of the South American team, led by Neymar, scored only one goal against the goal, receiving two in return. Of course, for most teams on the planet reaching the 1/4 finals of the World Cup would be an undoubted success, but not for the Brazilian team. Having won the World Cup five times, they taught their fans to triumph, which is now required of them at every tournament.

    The strongest team in history

    In this article, we will tell you which is the strongest football team in the history of this sport.

    According to many experts, it was the German national team of the 1974 model. Stars such as Paul Breitner, considered one of the most effective forwards in football history, shone in its composition.

    This generation of the German national team began to conquer their fans back in 1972 at the World Cup, when they won, beating the USSR national team 3-0 in the final.

    At the world championship in their homeland, they only confirmed that they are an ideally tuned mechanism, which is difficult to oppose. They defeated the Dutch 2-1 in the final.

    The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking (FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking) is a ranking system for national football teams. It was first introduced in 1993 as a relative indicator of the strength of the national team at the moment, allowing you to assess the dynamics of the team's growth. In July 2006, after the World Cup in Germany, significant changes were made to the scoring system.

    FIFA ranking of football teams for today

    The International Football Federation (FIFA) has published an updated rating of national teams. After the 2018 World Cup, very serious changes took place in the list: as expected, the leader changed, and the Russian team greatly improved its position, rising to a record number of places.

    In July, the FIFA rating was not updated, but this was due to the new scoring system, which was introduced taking into account the matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Actually, thanks to this, the leader has changed: the World Cup winner, the French team, is now in first place. It is followed by Belgium and Brazil.

    Croatia burst into the top 4, rising by as much as 16 places. Germany, which failed at the 2018 World Cup, is now in 15th place. Argentina also flew out of the top ten.

    144.76.78.4

    There is great news for fans of the Russian national team: after the team reached the quarterfinals of the world championship for the first time in its history, it improved its position by a record number of places, also showing the best progress in the FIFA rankings, by 21 lines.

    Wards of Stanislav Cherchesov before the tournament occupied the 70th place, but now they are on the 49th.

    Now, after each match, the team either gets points or loses. A weak team that beats a strong one will get more points than a strong team that beats a weak one. A strong team that loses to a weak one will lose more points than a weak team that loses to a strong one. This is the basis of the Elo method (named after Árpád Elo, a Hungarian-American physicist).

    Major tournament playoff wins will award more points than group stage wins. Clarification: this applies specifically to victories. For defeats in the playoffs will not minus.

    Teams will receive/lose fewer points for victories in friendly matches. Even fewer points will be awarded in friendly matches played on non-official FIFA dates. For example, freight trains during preparation for major tournaments.

    More

    Counting formula: post-match points = pre-match points + match importance index * (match result - expected result)

    Match indexes can be:

    05 - freight trains outside FIFA official dates
    10 - freight trains on FIFA official dates
    15 – Nations League group stage matches
    25 - playoffs and final of the League of Nations
    25 - World Cup qualifiers and continental tournaments (Euro, America's Cup, etc.)
    35 - matches of continental tournaments up to the quarterfinals
    40 - matches of continental tournaments, starting from the quarterfinals. All FIFA Confederations Cup matches
    50 - matches of the final stage of the World Cup to the quarter-finals
    60 - matches in the final stage of the World Cup, starting from the quarter-finals

    Match result: win = 1; draw = 0.5; defeat = 0

    The expected result is considered as follows: 1/(10^(- rating difference/600) + 1)

    Give an example

    The Russian national team beats Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the World Cup.

    We use "minus difference" in the formula. So just 8.

    2. Calculate the expected result: 1/(10^(8/600) + 1) = 0.49

    3. Calculate points after the match: 457 + 50 * (1 - 0.49) = 482

    If the national team loses to Saudi Arabia. Post match points: 457 + 50 * (0 - 0.49) = 432

    What are the advantages of this?

    The main thing: now everything is simple and clear. It is more difficult to understand the mechanics of the previous rating. FIFA has tested this method in women's football. Everyone was satisfied. Elo is also used in chess and eSports ratings.

    This is much fairer than the average points system. Now the weak for the victory over the strong will advance greatly, and the freight trains will not lower the rating, as it was before.

    What is the main disadvantage?

    Continental tournaments such as the African Cup and the Asian Cup will be able to score points in the same way as in the Euro or America's Cup. Given the difference in class, this is not entirely fair. Although FIFA calls it a plus.

    How was the previous rating calculated?

    Why do you need a rating at all?

    Used to draw baskets, FIFA awards rankings annually, and the Football Association of England, for example, uses FIFA rankings as one of the criteria for granting work permits to foreign players.