How did FIFA's rankings to this World Cup
Every month FIFA releases world rankings that somehow show how good teams are. Every month people argue about what these rankings really mean. Well at least for now, we have an answer. Below is a list of each team from the cup, their June '06 ranking and how they did in the cup. You can decide what you think of the rankings.
| Team | June '06 | WC result |
| Brazil | 1st | Quarterfinals |
| Czech Republic | 2nd | First round |
| Netherlands | 3rd | Final 16 |
| Mexico | 4th | Final 16 |
| USA | 5th | Frist round |
| Spain | 5th | Final 16 |
| Portugal | 7th | 4th place |
| France | 8th | 2nd place |
| Argentina | 9th | Quarterfinals |
| England | 10th | Quarterfinals |
| Italy | 13th | WC Champions |
| Sweden | 16th | Final 16 |
| Japan | 18th | First round |
| Germany | 19th | 3rd |
| Tunisia | 21st | First round |
| Iran | 23rd | First round |
| Croatia | 23rd | First round |
| Costa Rica | 26th | First round |
| Poland | 29th | First round |
| Korea Republic | 29th | First round |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 32nd | First round |
| Paraguay | 33rd | First round |
| Saudi Arabia | 34th | First round |
| Switzerland | 35th | Final 16 |
| Ecuador | 39th | Final 16 |
| Australia | 42nd | Final 16 |
| Serbia and Montenegro | 44th | First round |
| Ukraine | 45th | Quaterfinals |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 47th | First round |
| Ghana | 48th | Final 16 |
| Angola | 57th | First round |
| Togo | 61st | First round |
Labels: US MNT
posted by Mike H at 6:25 PM
1 Comments:
While not dramatic, there is a statistically significant relationship between the FIFA rankings and the performance of the various teams. Higher ranking teams did better, overall, than lower ranking teams. I tested it statistically by calculating Spearman's Rho (a measure of the degree of relationship between variables measured as ranks, like these). The value of Rho was .365, which had a probability of occurring of .04, which we in statistics consider unlikely enough that we trust the relationship is 'real.' The .04 is the probability of observing the .365 value if in reality there were no relationship between FIFA rank and WC outcome (an actual Rho of zero). Furthermore, WC final ranking (taking into account breaking ties) and WC Points earned in group stage both correlate with FIFA rankings at about .42 with a probability of occurring for each of about .015, very low probability.
Therefore, based on this analysis, FIFA rankings don't define the nature of the world, but do provide some reasonable rankings, particularly in distinguishing between top tier and a lower tier of teams.
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