New FiFA Rankings!

In a recently updated FIFA Ranking available on FIFA.com, European-Cup holders Greece rose 2 places to drop Portugal and Holland down a spot to 9th and 10th respectively. The mighty English remained at 11th. Most surprising to me, is that the US, in all their star-spangled banner glory, rose 7 places to 21st, thereby knocking off Russia, Poland, and Turkey from their spots, among others. I guess it pays to beat countries like Grenada, Barbados, Haiti and such.

Moldova, Qatar, Gambia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Montenegro, St. Lucia, the British Virgin Islands were the biggest double-digit gainers in the list of over 200 countries. Kazahkstan, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Austria, and Palestine were among the biggest double-digit losers.

For you Asians, the Vietnamese are at 115th, the Sri Lankans are at 160, and the pinoy is at a shameful 189th.

Argentina remains king, with Brazil and Italy following closely. With 8 of the top 10 ranked countries competing this summer in the Euro 2008 including Spain, Czech Rep, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Holland, and Greece, it will be very interesting who of these powerhouses can emerge as Europe’s undisputed finest for 2008.