Israel drops to all time low in world soccer rankings
Israel falls to 98th place in FIFA list, well below many neighbors including Libya, Qatar and Jordan. Still better than Syria, though
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Israel fell to its lowest ever position in FIFA’s world rankings, dropping 22 spots since last year to 98th place.
Last year’s No. 1, Argentina, still tops the list, released Thursday, followed by Belgium. Germany comes in at No. 3, replacing Colombia which fell to fourth.
Israel is accustomed to ranking higher in the list, with a historical average of 45th place.
Ranking is determined by the average number of points over the past 12 months plus the average number of points earned in matches from one to four years previously.
The points take into account the importance of the game, the strength of the opposition and the confederation to which they belong, as well as whether the match was won or drawn.
Teams that play fewer games do less well in the rankings.
On September 5 Israel lost 3-1 to Italy in a World Cup qualifier. Earlier in the year Israel was also defeated in two friendlies, losing 3-1 to Serbia and 2-0 to Croatia. In 2015 Israel lost to both Belgium and Cyprus and only managed a 0-0 draw with Wales.
Israel has only qualified once for the World Cup finals, in 1970. The chances this time around are pretty slim, too. Along with Italy, Israel is facing titans Spain as well as Albania, Macedonia and Liechtenstein in Group G of the qualifying tournament for the 2018 finals in Russia.
Israel is now behind many of her regional neighbors in the rankings, including Turkey (21); Iran (37); Saudi Arabia (52); Egypt (53); Morocco (58); United Arab Emirates (66); Libya (76); Qatar (85); Jordan (86).
But Israel ranks ahead of other neighbors, including Syria (114), Palestine (118), Iraq (128), and Lebanon (143).
The Times of Israel Community.