As promised, FIFA's ranks were updated today. I was probably a bit optimistic with some of my predictions. Here's what actually happened:
Biggest movers upwards:
Liechtenstein - this tiny nation were massively boosted over the last month, jumping 10 places to 148. This is still seven places lower than where they were in August, and comes thanks to their draw with Estonia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina - up 7 places thanks to a win over Slovakia and a draw with Poland. They're now ranked 44 in the world, and 13 places over their August rank.
Up five - Belgium (57), Georgia (73), Israel (50) and Malta (164). Georgia are continuing their rise from the bottom of the table, rather more sedately than Montenegro's. Israel, Malta and Belgium, however, all have lower positions than their August ranks.
Up four - Finland (83), which is still rubbish when you consider they were 32 positions higher in August.
Up three - Austria (46), Cyprus (90) and France (18). France, having beaten England, are starting to get back in order and returning to their usual position. Austria have also done well, rising 14 positions since August. Cyprus... well, their 2010 has been all over the place, with dramatic rises and falls.
Biggest movers downwards:
Lithuania - they've been up slightly, but now have lost out, returning to approximately their August position. In their game over the last month, they were beaten by Hungary.
Estonia - down 8, a disappointing drop for the Estonians who drew with Liechtenstein. But they're still up on their August position.
Azerbaijan - they had some good rises in position since August, but have now started dropping again. They're down 8, but still up overall.
Albania - much like Azerbaijan, it's the first drop after a run of rises. So they're still up on their August ranking.
Down 5 - Latvia (78) and Faroe Islands (136). It's just another drop in the series for unlucky Latvia, who were 49 in August. As for the Faroes, they didn't play in November/December as their friendly was just before the previous calculation.
Down 4 - Ireland (36), Romania (56). Ireland's is no change overall since August, but Romania continue to drop.
15/12/2010
10/12/2010
FIFA Rankings December 2010 (prediction)
There were a whole bunch of friendlies plus two qualifiers just after the November rankings were released, plus a friendly between Poland and Bosnia&Herzegovina on 10th December. Looking at the results of these games, I predict:
Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina drew 2-2, but won their earlier friendlies against Ivory Coast (19) and Slovakia (18) respectively, so both teams should gain. Their opponents will lose out.
England will probably fall in points, though maybe not position, as will Germany. France should gain after beating England.
Portugal beat first-placed Spain 4-0, incredibly. That gets them the maximum possible points for a friendly game - 600 - and may result in them even overtaking England (dare I say it). The Netherlands, who beat their opponents Turkey (29), might even go top. But that's less likely.
Expect Luxembourg, Romania, Northern Ireland and Belgium to do well after draws. Northern Ireland's was with a poorer team, but they maintain good form.
Finally, Georgia beat much better opponents in the form of Slovenia (15), and will also gain.
Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina drew 2-2, but won their earlier friendlies against Ivory Coast (19) and Slovakia (18) respectively, so both teams should gain. Their opponents will lose out.
England will probably fall in points, though maybe not position, as will Germany. France should gain after beating England.
Portugal beat first-placed Spain 4-0, incredibly. That gets them the maximum possible points for a friendly game - 600 - and may result in them even overtaking England (dare I say it). The Netherlands, who beat their opponents Turkey (29), might even go top. But that's less likely.
Expect Luxembourg, Romania, Northern Ireland and Belgium to do well after draws. Northern Ireland's was with a poorer team, but they maintain good form.
Finally, Georgia beat much better opponents in the form of Slovenia (15), and will also gain.
02/12/2010
World Cup 2018 and 2022
Now we know:
Russia will host the 2018 World Cup, and Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup. If I make it to 2022, that will be 12 years of this blog and I'll probably be out of touch - everyone will have moved on from blogging.
England, naturally, are disappointed. Still, we do get the Olympics in 2012 - which I hope to be volunteering at - so we're not completely bereft of sport. But as a country we are so able to host the competition, with our fantastic stadiums! In the last world cup, England had a greater proportion of players in our leagues than any other country - including Spain and Germany, who have fantastic leagues too.
Other countries that missed out are Japan, South Korea, the USA, Australia (all 2022), Spain/Portugal and Netherlands/Belgium (2018 - joint bids). It will be interesting to see how these countries handle the cup. Qatar should do well, but Russia... could be interesting.
No international football over the next months for Europe, but FIFA will be updating the rankings on December 15th.
Russia will host the 2018 World Cup, and Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup. If I make it to 2022, that will be 12 years of this blog and I'll probably be out of touch - everyone will have moved on from blogging.
England, naturally, are disappointed. Still, we do get the Olympics in 2012 - which I hope to be volunteering at - so we're not completely bereft of sport. But as a country we are so able to host the competition, with our fantastic stadiums! In the last world cup, England had a greater proportion of players in our leagues than any other country - including Spain and Germany, who have fantastic leagues too.
Other countries that missed out are Japan, South Korea, the USA, Australia (all 2022), Spain/Portugal and Netherlands/Belgium (2018 - joint bids). It will be interesting to see how these countries handle the cup. Qatar should do well, but Russia... could be interesting.
No international football over the next months for Europe, but FIFA will be updating the rankings on December 15th.
17/11/2010
European Friendlies 17/11/2010
European Games
A lot of friendlies and two Euro 2012 qualifiers today. Here are the more surprising results:
Germany only scraped a draw against much weaker opponents, but at least they did better than England who lost to rivals France. It was also disappointing for Northern Ireland to lose against African team Morocco.
More happily, Poland beat Ivory Coast, Belgium beat Russia, Georgia beat Slovenia, Bulgaria beat Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina beat Slovakia. In each of these games, the lower-ranked side won.
Similarly, there were draws for Luxembourg, Romania and Liechtenstein against much higher-ranked Algeria, Italy and Estonia respectively.
In the Euro 2012 qualifiers there were no surprises, with Finland destroying San Marino as Croatia beat Malta.
A lot of friendlies and two Euro 2012 qualifiers today. Here are the more surprising results:
Germany only scraped a draw against much weaker opponents, but at least they did better than England who lost to rivals France. It was also disappointing for Northern Ireland to lose against African team Morocco.
More happily, Poland beat Ivory Coast, Belgium beat Russia, Georgia beat Slovenia, Bulgaria beat Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina beat Slovakia. In each of these games, the lower-ranked side won.
Similarly, there were draws for Luxembourg, Romania and Liechtenstein against much higher-ranked Algeria, Italy and Estonia respectively.
In the Euro 2012 qualifiers there were no surprises, with Finland destroying San Marino as Croatia beat Malta.
FIFA/Coca-Cola Rankings Adjustment November 2010
No real change
The updates today to the FIFA rankings are minimal in Europe. This is because only Cyprus, Scotland and the Faroe Islands have played since the last update, although Italy and Serbia's game has now been taken into account. There are a lot of friendly matches and two Euro 2012 qualifying matches tonight, which will be considered on December 15th.
Biggest risers: Albania are up seven to 58th. They have not lost any places since August, when I first started tracking things. Nobody else has gained more than three places in the world rankings. However, Greece rise one place to 11th. Italy gain two places.
Biggest fallers: Wales fall seven to 111th. They're by far the worst of the British teams. Moldova and Macedonia each lose six places, and Cyprus lose five despite their draw with Jordan yesterday. Russia, who were briefly in the top 10, fall to thirteenth as Egypt get the number 10 slot. Serbia lose 3 places.
The updates today to the FIFA rankings are minimal in Europe. This is because only Cyprus, Scotland and the Faroe Islands have played since the last update, although Italy and Serbia's game has now been taken into account. There are a lot of friendly matches and two Euro 2012 qualifying matches tonight, which will be considered on December 15th.
Biggest risers: Albania are up seven to 58th. They have not lost any places since August, when I first started tracking things. Nobody else has gained more than three places in the world rankings. However, Greece rise one place to 11th. Italy gain two places.
Biggest fallers: Wales fall seven to 111th. They're by far the worst of the British teams. Moldova and Macedonia each lose six places, and Cyprus lose five despite their draw with Jordan yesterday. Russia, who were briefly in the top 10, fall to thirteenth as Egypt get the number 10 slot. Serbia lose 3 places.
15/11/2010
Formula 1 2010 Season Summary Two
Here are some of the stats I have collected over 2010:
Qualifying Stats
The best qualifiers were Sebastian Vettel with an average position of second, and Mark Webber with an average position of 2.5.
The worst were Karun Chandhok on an average of 23.4, and Sakon Yamamoto on 22.9. I wonder if either would have had a better average if they'd been allowed to race more?
The best driver at outqualifying his teammate is Robert Kubica, who has started ahead of Vitaly Petrov seventeen times in 2010.
The worst is thus Petrov in percentage terms, but in their fewer races Yamamoto and Nick Heidfeld have each only won the qualifying battle once.
Race Stats
Obviously Vettel had the best results, with his winning the championship. However, Fernando Alonso has the best average finish on 5.1, with Webber second on 5.6 and Vettel third on 5.9.
The worst finishers were Christian Klien with an average of 21, Lucas Di Grassi on 18.4, and Jarno Trulli on 18.2. This is rather surprising, but Trulli has had a lot of bad finishes and retirements in 2010.
The best driver for retirements in-race is Felipe Massa, with only one race retirement in the nineteen. Yamamoto, Klien and Heidfeld have also had only one retirement each, but over fewer races.
The worst driver for retirements is Trulli, who has only finished eight of the races this year. He did not even start in Australia.
Team-wise, the best for retirements has been Ferrari. Despite unreliability in practice and qualifying, they have only had three DNFs all year. One was for Massa, and two were for Alonso of which one was classified.
The worst team for retirements was Lotus, with 18 non-finishes. Virgin only have one less, on 17. This makes Hispania the most reliable of the new teams, and indeed over the last four races Hispania have had both cars finish each time.
Position Changing Stats
In terms of positions gained or lost from start to finish, the best and worst are surprising. Basically, take the qualifying winners and losers, then switch them around!
In his 10 races, Chandhok was the best driver at gaining positions, with an average of more than five per race.
The worst, by contrast, was Vettel, who lost an average of four positions per race. Webber was the next-worst. Presumably it's easier to lose positions if you always start well, and vice-versa, but Trulli's low-starting Lotus tended to lose positions while Alonso's high-starting Ferrari tends to gain them.
Outside of the new teams, Jaime Alguersuari was the best at gaining positions. Outside the big three, Nico Hulkenberg was the worst.
Other Stats
The youngest team was Toro Rosso, with the only two drivers younger than me. Excluding Hispania and Sauber with their extra drivers, the oldest team are Mercedes, where Michael Schumacher's age is combined with a younger Nico Rosberg.
The youngest Team Principal is Christian Horner, who isn't quite 37. The eldest is Frank Williams, who has the same birthday as me and is doing well for 68.
Qualifying Stats
The best qualifiers were Sebastian Vettel with an average position of second, and Mark Webber with an average position of 2.5.
The worst were Karun Chandhok on an average of 23.4, and Sakon Yamamoto on 22.9. I wonder if either would have had a better average if they'd been allowed to race more?
The best driver at outqualifying his teammate is Robert Kubica, who has started ahead of Vitaly Petrov seventeen times in 2010.
The worst is thus Petrov in percentage terms, but in their fewer races Yamamoto and Nick Heidfeld have each only won the qualifying battle once.
Race Stats
Obviously Vettel had the best results, with his winning the championship. However, Fernando Alonso has the best average finish on 5.1, with Webber second on 5.6 and Vettel third on 5.9.
The worst finishers were Christian Klien with an average of 21, Lucas Di Grassi on 18.4, and Jarno Trulli on 18.2. This is rather surprising, but Trulli has had a lot of bad finishes and retirements in 2010.
The best driver for retirements in-race is Felipe Massa, with only one race retirement in the nineteen. Yamamoto, Klien and Heidfeld have also had only one retirement each, but over fewer races.
The worst driver for retirements is Trulli, who has only finished eight of the races this year. He did not even start in Australia.
Team-wise, the best for retirements has been Ferrari. Despite unreliability in practice and qualifying, they have only had three DNFs all year. One was for Massa, and two were for Alonso of which one was classified.
The worst team for retirements was Lotus, with 18 non-finishes. Virgin only have one less, on 17. This makes Hispania the most reliable of the new teams, and indeed over the last four races Hispania have had both cars finish each time.
Position Changing Stats
In terms of positions gained or lost from start to finish, the best and worst are surprising. Basically, take the qualifying winners and losers, then switch them around!
In his 10 races, Chandhok was the best driver at gaining positions, with an average of more than five per race.
The worst, by contrast, was Vettel, who lost an average of four positions per race. Webber was the next-worst. Presumably it's easier to lose positions if you always start well, and vice-versa, but Trulli's low-starting Lotus tended to lose positions while Alonso's high-starting Ferrari tends to gain them.
Outside of the new teams, Jaime Alguersuari was the best at gaining positions. Outside the big three, Nico Hulkenberg was the worst.
Other Stats
The youngest team was Toro Rosso, with the only two drivers younger than me. Excluding Hispania and Sauber with their extra drivers, the oldest team are Mercedes, where Michael Schumacher's age is combined with a younger Nico Rosberg.
The youngest Team Principal is Christian Horner, who isn't quite 37. The eldest is Frank Williams, who has the same birthday as me and is doing well for 68.
14/11/2010
Formula 1 2010 Season Summary One
In the style of 11 points, here are the eleven things that I feel really defined the 2010 season:
1. Someone other than a Red Bull, Ferrari or McLaren getting a pole. Nico Hulkenberg gets the number one spot for his incredible pole position in Interlagos.
2. The tyres working too well. Kamui Kobayashi's late pit stop in Valencia was exciting, and it's a shame it wasn't really tried by other teams. However, it is a risky strategy as you can end up losing a position you don't really want to at the end of the race. Quite a few managed it in Abu Dhabi, including Button on the super-softs for more than 40 laps!
3. The tyres doing what they ought to. The Canadian Grand Prix was a brilliant demonstration of what unpredictable tyres can do in a race, and was what persuaded the FIA to go with Pirelli tyres next season.
4. Cars under suspicion. Red Bull's front wing looked like it wasn't doing what it ought to, bending closer than permitted to the road. But they maintained their innocence, and were proved right in FIA tests. Then they were proved awesome by winning everything in sight.
5. Innovative speed. McLaren pioneered the F-duct, which they managed to protect for several races. It helped them to victories in Australia and |China, and was soon adopted by most of the other teams.
6. Team orders. Ferrari in Germany had Massa and Alonso swap places. They were massively fined, but people were still talking about it to the end of the season. Their strategy backfired again in Abu Dhabi when it cost Alonso the championship as he got stuck behind Petrov.
7. The return of an old name. Lotus Racing brought the historical name of Lotus back to F1. Then they managed to get the rights to the 'Team Lotus' name, but were challenged by Group Lotus. Next year they probably won't have the name, but they will get the black and gold. They were the best of the three new teams in 2010.
8. The championship challengers. Alonso, Webber, Vettel, Hamilton and Button all with the ability, mathematically, to win the championship with only two races to go, and all but Button still able to do so in the final race – a Formula One first. And then the winner was not only the youngest, but also the only one who hadn't led the championship during the year.
9. A successful new track. The Korean Grand Prix was slightly spoiled by the rain, but practice and qualifying hinted that in dry conditions it could be a fantastic race.
10. Rain, rain, rain. It affected a lot of races, including Canada where it kept washing clean the track, and Japan where qualifying had to be postponed. It even rained in Abu Dhabi!
11. Can't decide on a driver. Hispania chopped and changed their drivers throughout the year. Senna did all-but-one race, with Chandhok starting the season and Sakon Yamamoto doing most of the end. Christian Klien was their fourth driver, who raced as a replacement for Yamamoto in Singapore, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
1. Someone other than a Red Bull, Ferrari or McLaren getting a pole. Nico Hulkenberg gets the number one spot for his incredible pole position in Interlagos.
2. The tyres working too well. Kamui Kobayashi's late pit stop in Valencia was exciting, and it's a shame it wasn't really tried by other teams. However, it is a risky strategy as you can end up losing a position you don't really want to at the end of the race. Quite a few managed it in Abu Dhabi, including Button on the super-softs for more than 40 laps!
3. The tyres doing what they ought to. The Canadian Grand Prix was a brilliant demonstration of what unpredictable tyres can do in a race, and was what persuaded the FIA to go with Pirelli tyres next season.
4. Cars under suspicion. Red Bull's front wing looked like it wasn't doing what it ought to, bending closer than permitted to the road. But they maintained their innocence, and were proved right in FIA tests. Then they were proved awesome by winning everything in sight.
5. Innovative speed. McLaren pioneered the F-duct, which they managed to protect for several races. It helped them to victories in Australia and |China, and was soon adopted by most of the other teams.
6. Team orders. Ferrari in Germany had Massa and Alonso swap places. They were massively fined, but people were still talking about it to the end of the season. Their strategy backfired again in Abu Dhabi when it cost Alonso the championship as he got stuck behind Petrov.
7. The return of an old name. Lotus Racing brought the historical name of Lotus back to F1. Then they managed to get the rights to the 'Team Lotus' name, but were challenged by Group Lotus. Next year they probably won't have the name, but they will get the black and gold. They were the best of the three new teams in 2010.
8. The championship challengers. Alonso, Webber, Vettel, Hamilton and Button all with the ability, mathematically, to win the championship with only two races to go, and all but Button still able to do so in the final race – a Formula One first. And then the winner was not only the youngest, but also the only one who hadn't led the championship during the year.
9. A successful new track. The Korean Grand Prix was slightly spoiled by the rain, but practice and qualifying hinted that in dry conditions it could be a fantastic race.
10. Rain, rain, rain. It affected a lot of races, including Canada where it kept washing clean the track, and Japan where qualifying had to be postponed. It even rained in Abu Dhabi!
11. Can't decide on a driver. Hispania chopped and changed their drivers throughout the year. Senna did all-but-one race, with Chandhok starting the season and Sakon Yamamoto doing most of the end. Christian Klien was their fourth driver, who raced as a replacement for Yamamoto in Singapore, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
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