All-Time Highest and Lowest FIFA Rankings in 2009

This list shows the nations that have had their all-time highest or lowest FIFA rankings in the 2009 calendar year. (Nations Currently at their Highest/Lowest Ever Ranks in BOLD)

BEST ALL-TIME FIFA RANKING in 2009

11 - Cameroon (November-December)
13 - Serbia (September)
14 - Australia (September)
15 - Egypt (January)
16 - Cote D'Ivoire (November)
26 - Algeria (December)
27 - Northern Ireland (April-June)
30 - Gabon (July)
45 - Latvia (December)
49 - Burkina Faso (December)
50 - Panama (February)
59 - Benin (December)
65 - Gambia (June)
73 - Montenegro (December)
88 - Granada (July)
92 - Barbados (October)
105 - Antigua and Barbuda (July)
118 - Chad (January)
132 - Nicaragua (February)
155 - Philippines (October)
170 - Mongolia (November)
176 - Comoros (December)



WORST ALL-TIME FIFA RANKING in 2009

33 - Mexico (July)
36 - Romania (October)
38 - Denmark (March)
42 - Sweden (July; November-December)
51 - Colombia (February)
67 - Morocco (November-December)
91 - Peru (September)
96 - Zambia (October)
108 - China (July)
118 - Congo DR (September)
124 - United Arab Emirates (August)
131 - Zimbabwe (October)
154 - Malta (February)
160 - Liberia (October)
180 - Chinese Taipei (April)
183 - Mauritius (August)
191 - St. Lucia (July)
193 - British Virgin Islands (April-October)
193 - Tonga (September)
194 - Guinea-Bissau (December)
195 - Tahiti (November)
197 - Macau (January-March)
198 - Dominica (July)
202 - Andorra (October-December)
202 - Central African Republic (July)
202 - Cook Islands (April)
203 - Papua New Guinea (July-December)
203 - San Marino (July-December)

Videos: TB11's Favorite Goals of the Decade

These are my top 10 favorite goals of the past decade. Anybody who has come up with a list like this knows that it's difficult to stop at ten, there are so many deserving goals from the past ten years. These goals are not necessarily the 'Best' goals of the decade, but are my most memorable/favorites. Enjoy!

Dwayne DeRosario, not all that impressive until the view at the 56 second mark


Gianfranco Zola, a goal Claudio Ranieri described as "fantasy, magic"


Andres Vasques, ridiculous goal from Swedish Allsvenskan


Robin van Persie, I'm not a fan of the 'big four', but this goal is great


Lucas Matías Licht, a long range bomb in Argentina


Zlatan Ibrahimovic, dribbling through the entire defense


Ronaldinho, Amazing control and overhead kick


Landon Donovan, Charlie Davies and Mandon combine in the Confed Cup Final



CAUTION: LOUD VOLUME
Zinedine Zidane, Great Volley in the European Cup Final


Yoann Gourcuff, Remarquable!

FIFA Confederation Rankings: December 2009

I came up with these confederation rankings by averaging the Dec 09 FIFA rank of the top 10 nations in each confederation. The high nation is the 1st ranked team in each confederation and the low team is the 10th ranked nation.

7.0 - Europe
High: Spain (1)
Low: Greece (13)

32.4 - South America
High: Brazil (2)
Low: Peru (68)

33.0 - Africa
High: Cameroon (11)
Low: Tunisia (53)

56.9 - CONCACAF
High: USA (14)
Low: Haiti (90)

63.0 - Asia
High: Australia (21)
Low: Korea DPR (86)

163.9 - Oceania
High: New Zealand (82)
Low: American Samoa and Papua New Guinea (203)

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from The Best Eleven!

Here is a top ten goals of 2009 video...



via [Unprofessional Foul and Never Captain Nicky Butt]

All-Time Oldest Premier League Goal Scorers

Last week I posted the All-time Youngest Premiership goal scorers, so I thought I'd give the old guys a post this week. These are the players who at the time of their first goal scored in a season, were at least 36 years old.

Teddy Sheringham became the all-time oldest EPL goal scorer when he hit the net in a 2-1 defeat to Portsmouth at the age of 40 years and 266 days.






1992/93

36 / 339 - Kevin Moran (Blackburn Rovers)
36 / 182 - Viv Anderson (Sheffield Wednesday)
36 / 118 - Bryan Robson (Manchester United)
36 / 60 - Gordon Strachan (Leeds United)
36 / 54 - Ray Wilkins (QPR)

1993/94

37 / 114 - Kevin Moran (Blackburn Rovers)
36 / 338 - Ray Wilkins (QPR)
36 / 221 - Gordon Strachan (Leeds United)
36 / 316 - Bryan Robson (Manchester United)
36 / 167 - Mal Donaghy (Chelsea)
36 / 150 - Glenn Hoddle (Chelsea)
36 / 136 - John Wark (Ipswich Town)

1994/95

37 / 177 - John Wark (Ipswich Town)

1995/96

37 / 12 - Mick Harford (MK Dons)
36 / 135 - Paul McGrath (Aston Villa)

1996/97

38 / 34 - Mick Harford (MK Dons)
36 / 56 - Peter Beardsley (Newcastle United)

1997/98

36 / 252 - Peter Beardsley (Bolton Wanderers)

1998/99

36 / 225 - Mark Bright (Charlton Athletic)

1999/00

37 / 138 - Richard Gough (Everton)
36 / 318 - John Dreyer (Bradford City)
36 / 152 - Mark Hughes (Everton)
36 / 53 - Lee Dixon (Arsenal)

2000/01

38 / 215 - Stuart Pearce (West Ham United)
36 / 343 - Nigel Winterburn (West Ham United)
36 / 288 - Lee Dixon (Arsenal)
36 / 127 - Gary McAllister (Liverpool)
36 / 91 - Stuart McCall (Bradford City)

2001/02

38 / 149 - Mark Hughes (Blackburn Rovers)
37 / 336 - Peter Schmeichel (Aston Villa)
36 / 120 - Gudni Bergsson (Bolton Wanderers)
36 / 39 - Teddy Sheringham (Tottenham Hotspur)

2002/03

37 / 19 - Teddy Sheringham (Tottehnam Hotspur)
36 / 290 - Gianfranco Zola (Chelsea)
36 / 144 - Les Ferdinand (West Ham United)

2003/04

38 / 43 - Teddy Sheringham (Portsmouth)
37 / 135 - Les Ferdinand (Leicester City)
36 / 123 - Paul Ince (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
36 / 84 - Gustavo Poyet (Tottenham Hotspur)
36 / 60 - Youri Djorkaeff (Bolton Wanderers)

2004/05

37 / 268 - Les Ferdinand (Bolton Wanderers)
36 / 263 - Ferando Hierro (Bolton Wanderers)
36 / 195 - Greame Le Saux (Southampton)
36 / 50 - Craig Short (Blackburn Rovers)

2005/06

39 / 350 - Teddy Sheringham (West Ham United)
36 / 332 - Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal)
36 / 184 - Gary Speed (Bolton Wanderers)
36 / 7 - Kevin Campbell (West Bromwich Albion)

2006/07

40 / 268 - Teddy Sheringham (West Ham United)
37 / 247 - Gary Speed (Bolton Wanderers)
36 / 87 - Tugay (Blackburm Rovers)

2007/08

37 / 351 - Gary Speed (Bolton Wanderers)
37 / 99 - Tugay (Blackburn Rovers)
36 / 21 - Dwight Yorke (Sunderland)

2008/09

38 / 98 - Tugay (Blackburn Rovers)

2009/10

38 / 67 - Graham Alexander (Burnley)
36 / 63 - Kevin Phillips (Birmingham City)

- Ryan Giggs was 35 / 364 when he scored his 100th Premier League Goal against Portsmouth in November -


Stats from Statbunker

Videos: 'High Quality' Own Goals in the Past Month

The own goals have been flying in the net in the past month. These videos are the pick of the bunch, starting off with one of the most ridiculous goalkeeping errors I've ever seen and ending with 3 'quality' own goals in the same game.


Jurgen Sierens OG - Anderlecht v Roeselare (Belgium)


Moises Moura Pinheiro OG - Braga v Leixoes (Portugal)


Stefano Lucchini OG - Sampdoria v Livorno (Italy)


Omar Zarif OG - Chacarita Juniors v Newells Old Boys (Argentina)


3 OG's - Borussia M'Gladbach v Hannover 96

World Soccer Average Attendance List

This is a ranked list of all the world soccer leagues (that I could find fairly recent numbers for) whose average game attendance was at least 5,000 per game.


41,914 - German Bundesliga
35,599 - English Premier League
29,124 - Spain La Liga
25,379 - Mexico Primera Division
23,180 - Italy Serie A
21,050 - France Ligue 1
20,886 - Argentina Primera Division
20,195 - England Football League Championship
19,827 - Dutch Eredivisie
19,278 - Japan J-League
17,601 - Brazil Campeonato Serie A
16,482 - China Super League
16,460 - Major League Soccer
15,550 - Germany 2.Bundesliga
14,915 - Scottish Premier League
14,058 - Turkey Super Lig
13,334 - Russian Premier League
13,242 - South Korea K-League
12,966 - Australia A-League
11.369 - Belgium Jupiler League
10,917 - Switzerland Super League
10,438 - Norway Premier League
10,390 - Portuguese Liga
10,326 - Vietnam V-League
10,258 - Sweden Allsvenskan
9,552 - Colombia Copa Mustang
9,338 - Austrian Bundesliga
9,216 - Iran Premier League
9,052 - Ukrainian Premier League
8,814 - Denmark Superliga
8,599 - France Ligue 2
8,112 - Spain Segunda Division
8,324 - England Football League One
7,622 - Greece Super League
7,526 - South Africa Premier Soccer League
7,336 - Uzbekistan League
7,329 - Poland Orange Ekstraklasa
7,219 - Brazil Campeonato Serie B
7,072 - Japan J-League 2
6,147 - Chile Primera Division
6,044 - Romania Divizia A
6,026 - Italy Serie B
5,453 - Germany Regionalliga Nord
5,305 - Israeli Premier League
5,147 - Czech Premier League



A majority of these numbers were found at EFS (European Football Statistics)

I'm still looking for a decent source for African and Asian attendance figures. If anybody knows of a good/reliable source for that info please let me know. I would imagine places like Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, etc. might make the list, but I haven't been able to find attendance info for those leagues.

All-Time Youngest Premier League Goal Scorers

These are the youngest goal scorers in the history of the English Premier League (since 1992/93). All of these players were 17 years or younger at the time of their goals.

James Vaughan holds the youngest EPL goal record at 16 years and 271 days after netting for Everton against Crystal Palace on 10 April 2005.









Years/Days

1992/93
17 / 161 - Andy Turner (Tottenham Hotspur)

1993/94
NONE

1994/95
NONE

1995/96
17 / 181 - Lee Hodges (West Ham United)

1996/97
17 / 143 - Michael Owen (Liverpool)

1997/98
17 / 238 - Michael Owen (Liverpool)
17 / 343 - Danny Cadamarteri (Everton)
17 / 360 - Michael Ball (Everton)

1998/99
17 / 342 - Mikael Forssell (Chelsea)

1999/00
NONE

2000/01
NONE

2001/02
17 / 77 - Darren Bent (Ipswich Town)

2002/03
16 / 356 - James Milner (Leeds United)
16 / 360 - Wayne Rooney (Everton)

2003/04
17 / 306 - Wayne Rooney (Everton)
17 / 360 - James Milner (Leeds United)

2004/05
16 / 271 - James Vaughan (Everton)
17 / 113 - Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

2005/06
NONE

2006/07
NONE

2007/08
NONE

2008/09
17 / 226 - Federico Macheda (Manchester United)
17 / 355 - Danny Wellbeck (Manchester United)

2009/10
NONE....(as of 12/16/09)


Stats from Statbunker
Pic from BBC Sport

FIFA Club World Cup Result History

2000
1st: Corinthians (Brazil)
2nd: Vasco da Gama (Brazil)
3rd: Necaxa (Mexico)

Other Participants:
Manchester United (England), Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia), South Melbourne (Australia), Raja Casablanca (Morocco), Real Madrid (Spain)

2005
1st: São Paulo (Brazil)
2nd: Liverpool (England)
3rd: Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica)

Other Participants:
Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia), Sydney FC (Australia), Al-Ahly (Egypt)

2006
1st: Internacional (Brazil)
2nd: Barcelona (Spain)
3rd: Al-Ahly (Egypt)

Other Participants:
Chonbuk Hyundai Motors FC (South Korea), CF America (Mexico), Auckland City FC (New Zealand)

2007
1st: AC Milan (Italy)
2nd: Boca Juniors (Argentina)
3rd: Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan)

Other Participants:
Pachuca CF (Mexico), Waitakere United (New Zealand), Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia), Sepahan (Iran)

2008
1st: Manchester United (England)
2nd: LDU de Quito (Ecuador)
3rd: Gamba Osaka (Japan)

Other Participants:
Pachuca CF (Mexico), Waitakere United (New Zealand), Al-Ahly (Egypt), Adelaide United (Australia)

2009
Participants:
Barcelona (Spain)
Estudiantes (Argentina)
Atlante (Mexico)
Pohang Steelers (South Korea)
TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
Al-Ahli (UAE)
Auckland City (New Zealand)

Winners By Confederation
CONMEBOL - 2000, 2005, 2006
UEFA - 2007, 2008

Runner-Up By Confederation
CONMEBOL - 2000, 2007, 2008
UEFA - 2005, 2006

Third Place By Confederation
CONCACAF - 2000, 2005
CAF - 2006
AFC - 2007, 2008

Multiple Appearances
3 - Al-Ahly (Egpyt) 2005, 2006, 2008
2 - Manchester United (England) 2000, 2008
2 - CF Pachuca (Mexico) 2007, 2008
2 - Waitakere United (New Zealand) 2007, 2008

Europe's Youngest Goal Scorers - Fall/Winter 2009

This is a list of teenage players who have scored a goal this season in their respective European leagues. (as of December 14, 2009)

English Premier League

18 - Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal)
19 - Dan Gosling (Everton)
19 - Junior Stanislas (West Ham United)

English Championship

17 - Chris Wood (West Bromwich Albion)
18 - Nile Ranger (Newcastle United)
18 - Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace)
18 - Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (Blackpool)
18 - Victor Moses (Crystal Palace)
19 - Henry Lansbury (Watford)
19 - Jacob Butterfield (Barnsley)
19 - Martin Waghorn (Leicester City)
19 - Jake Livermore (Derby County)
19 - Jack Colback (Ipswich Town)

Scottish Premier League

19 - Alexander MacDonald (Falkirk)

German Bundesliga

18 - Joel Matip (Schalke 04)
18 - Andre Schurrle (Mainz)
19 - Franco Zuculini (TSG Hoffenheim)
19 - Christoph Moritz (Schalke 04)
19 - Tunay Torun (Hamburg)
19 - Toni Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen)
19 - Burak Kaplan (Bayer Leverkusen)
19 - Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)

Spain La Liga

16 - Iker Muniain (Athletic Bilbao)
19 - Bojan Krkic (Barcelona)
19 - Macedo Rocha Michel (Almeria)
19 - Omar Hernandez (Malaga)

Italy Serie A

19 - Mario Balotelli (Inter)
19 - Abel Hernandez (Palermo)
19 - Alberto Paloschi (Parma)
19 - Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina)
19 - Alexandre Pato (AC Milan)

France Ligue 1

18 - Yannis Taffer (Lyon)
19 - Sebastien Corchia (Le Mans)
19 - Miralem Pjanic (Lyon)
19 - Emmanuel Riviere (AS Saint Etienne)
19 - Younes Belhanda (Montpellier HSC)
19 - Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse)



Stats compiled from StatBunker

Interactive Map: Everton Player Birthplaces

These maps show the birthplaces of all the players on the Senior Squad of Everton FC. Click the placemark icons for the player names and their birthplaces. For more navigation options click the view Everton Player Birthplace in a larger map links.

View Everton Player Birthplace Map in a larger map

View Everton Player Birthplace Map in a larger map

2010 World Cup Nations - WC Results since 1970

This table shows the results from the last 10 World Cups for the nations that have qualified for South Africa 2010. (Table Modified from this Wikipedia Page)

Team	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)
Algeria	•	•	•	R1 13th	R1 22nd	•	•	•	•	•
Argentina	•	QF 8th	1st	R2 11th	1st	2nd	R2 10th	QF 6th	R1 18th	QF 6th
Australia	•	R1 14th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R2 16th
Brazil	1st	4th	3rd	R2 5th	QF 5th	R2 9th	1st	2nd	1st	QF 5th
Cameroon	•	•	•	R1 17th	•	QF 7th	R1 22nd	R1 25th	R1 20th	•
Chile	•	R1 11th	•	R1 22nd	•	•		R2 16th	•	•
Côte d'Ivoire		•	•		•	•	•	•	•	R1 19th
Denmark	•	•	•	•	R2 9th	•	•	QF 8th	R2 10th	•
England	QF 8th	•	•	R2 6th	QF 8th	4th	•	R2 9th	QF 6th	QF 7th
France	•	•	R1 12th	4th	3rd	•	•	1st	R1 28th	2nd
Germany	3rd	1st	QF 6th	2nd	2nd	1st	QF 5th	QF 7th	2nd	3rd
Ghana	•	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	R2 13th
Greece	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1 24th	•	•	•
Honduras	•	•		R1 18th	•	•	•	•	•	•
Italy	2nd	R1 10th	4th	1st	R2 12th	3rd	2nd	QF 5th	R2 15th	1st
Japan	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1 31st	R2 9th	R1 T-28th
Korea DPR		•		•	•	•	•			•
Korea Republic	•	•	•	•	R1 20th	R1 22nd	R1 20th	R1 30th	4th	R1 17th
Mexico	QF 6th	•	R1 16th	•	QF 6th		R2 13th	R2 13th	R2 11th	R2 15th
Netherlands	•	2nd	2nd	•	•	R2 15th	QF 7th	4th	•	R2 11th
New Zealand	•	•	•	R1 23rd	•	•	•	•	•	•
Nigeria	•	•	•	•	•	•	R2 9th	R2 12th	R1 27th	•
Paraguay	•	•	•	•	R2 13th	•	•	R2 14th	R2 16th	R1 18th
Portugal	•	•	•	•	R1 17th	•	•	•	R1 21st	4th
Serbia [1]	•	QF 7th	•	R1 16th	•	QF 5th		R2 10th	•	R1 32nd
Slovakia [2]	R1 15th	•	•	R1 19th	•	QF 6th	•	•	•	•
Slovenia								•	R1 30th	•
South Africa							•	R1 24th	R1 17th	•
Spain	•	•	R1 10th	R2 12th	QF 7th	R2 10th	QF 8th	R1 17th	QF 5th	R2 9th
Switzerland	•	•	•	•	•	•	R2 15th	•	•	R2 10th
United States	•	•	•	•	•	R1 23rd	R2 14th	R1 32nd	QF 8th	R1 T-25th
Uruguay	4th	R1 12th	•	•	R2 16th	R2 16th	•	•	R1 26th	•

[1] as Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro
[2] as Czechoslovakia

Videos: Soccer in the Snow

In honor of the fact that I got my Subaru Outback stuck in my driveway three times this morning (and another couple of feet of snow should be here by tomorrow), I thought I'd post some video of some snowy games from the last couple of years.

I bet the Brazilians that play for Shakhtar Donetsk really enjoyed that game....(and they say Brazilians don't like to play in England because of the weather)

Dynamo Kyiv v Shakhtar Donetsk (2007, in Kiev, Ukraine)


Estonia v Canada (2008, in Talinn, Estonia))


Poland v Slovakia (2009, in Chorzów, Poland)

Population of World Cup 2010 Nations

Image from ByteLevel Research

These are the approximate/estimated populations of all the 2010 World Cup nations (in millions)

308 - United States
192 - Brazil
155 - Nigeria
128 - Japan
111 - Mexico
82 - Germany
65 - France
60 - Italy
52 - England
49 - South Africa
48 - Korea Republic
46 - Spain
40 - Argentina
35 - Algeria
24 - Ghana
24 - Korea DPR
22 - Australia
21 - Côte d'Ivoire
20 - Cameroon
17 - Chile
17 - Netherlands
11 - Greece
11 - Portugal
8 - Honduras
8 - Switzerland
7 - Serbia
6 - Denmark
6 - Paraguay
5 - Slovakia
4 - New Zealand
3 - Uruguay
2 - Slovenia


TOTAL POPULATION BY GROUPS (in millions)

228 - GROUP A
254 - GROUP B
397 - GROUP C
135 - GROUP D
171 - GROUP E
75 - GROUP F
248 - GROUP G
79 - GROUP H


INTERESTING POPULATION FACTS

Most Populated Nation will play the Least Populated Nation
USA (308m) v Slovenia (2m)

The Only Game with Combined Population of less than 10 million
New Zealand (4m) v Slovakia (5m)

Only Two Games with two nations of 50 million or more
USA v England
Mexico v France

GROUP A (RSA, MEX, FRA, URU) and GROUP B (ARG, NIG, KOR, GRE) are the only two groups with 3 nations that have a population of 40 million or more

GROUP F (ITA, PAR, NZL, SVK) is the only group with 3 nations with a population of less than 10 million

Amazingly, the approximate difference in population between first round opponents Honduras and Switzerland is only about 70,000 people. Honduras (7,810,848) - Switzerland (7,739,100)

Video: Dutch 'Total Football' World Cup 1974

Thoroughly entertaining 'total football' highlights from The Netherlands first game vs. Uruguay at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany.

FIFA World Cup Draw - Average Group Rankings

Here are all of the Groups from the 2010 World Cup with November FIFA rankings and group average rankings. The toughest group by average rankings is Group H (Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland) and the easiest group is Group F (Italy, Paraguay, Slovakia, New Zealand).

GROUP A (31.75)
South Africa (86)
Mexico (15)
Uruguay (19)
France (7)

GROUP B (23.50)
Argentina (8)
Nigeria (22)
Korea Republic (52)
Greece (12)

GROUP C (21.00)
England (9)
USA (14)
Algeria (28)
Slovenia (33)

GROUP D (21.00)
Germany (6)
Australia (21)
Ghana (37)
Serbia (20)

GROUP E (20.75)
Netherlands (3)
Japan (43)
Cameroon (11)
Denmark (26)

GROUP F (36.25)
Italy (4)
Paraguay (30)
New Zealand (77)
Slovakia (34)

GROUP G (26.50)
Brazil (1)
Korea DPR (84)
Cote d'Ivoire (16)
Portugal (5)

GROUP H (18.50)
Spain (1)
Honduras (38)
Chile (17)
Switzerland (18)

FIFA World Cup Draw History since USA 1994

This list shows the Groups from the last four World Cups along with the point results and each nation's FIFA ranking from when the World Cup Draw took place.

Format:
Group _ (Average Group Ranking)
Pts - Nation (FIFA Ranking)

Lowest Ranked Group winners in RED


USA 1994

GROUP A (17.25)
6 - Romania (12)
4 - Switzerland (9)
4 - USA (27)
3 - Colombia (21)

GROUP B (13.25)
7 - Brazil (4)
5 - Sweden (11)
3 - Russia (14)
1 - Cameroon (24)

GROUP C (27.00)
7 - Germany (3)
5 - Spain (7)
2 - South Korea (39)
1 - Bolivia (59)

GROUP D (20.00)
6 - Nigeria (16)
6 - Bulgaria (23)
6 - Argentina (9)
0 - Greece (32)

GROUP E (9.00)
4 - Mexico (17)
4 - Republic of Ireland (13)
4 - Italy (1)
4 - Norway (5)

GROUP F (23.00)
6 - Netherlands (2)
6 - Saudi Arabia (38)
6 - Belgium (22)
0 - Morocco (30)


FRANCE 1998

GROUP A (16.75)
6 - Brazil (1)
5 - Norway (14)
4 - Morocco (16)
1 - Scotland (36)

GROUP B (26.00)
7 - Italy (10)
3 - Chile (17)
2 - Austria (26)
2 - Cameroon (51)

GROUP C (21.00)
9 - France (7)
4 - Denmark (8)
2 - South Africa (35)
1 - Saudi Arabia (34)

GROUP D (32.00)
6 - Nigeria (71)
5 - Paraguay (30)
4 - Spain (3)
1 - Bulgaria (24)

GROUP E (23.75)
5 - Netherlands (12)
5 - Mexico (11)
3 - Korea Republic (31)
1 - Belgium (41)

GROUP F (25.75)
7 - Germany (2)
7 - Yugoslavia (22)
3 - Iran (50)
0 - United States (29)

GROUP G (10.75)
7 - Romania (5)
6 - England (6)
3 - Colombia (9)
1 - Tunisia (23)

GROUP H (24.25)
9 - Argentina (19)
6 - Croatia (21)
3 - Jamaica (39)
0 - Japan (18)


JAPAN/SOUTH KOREA 2002

GROUP A (27.25)
7 - Denmark (17)
5 - Senegal (67)
2 - Uruguay (24)
1 - France (1)

GROUP B (20.50)
9 - Spain (7)
4 - Paraguay (14)
4 - South Africa (34)
0 - Slovenia (27)

GROUP C (28.00)
9 - Brazil (3)
4 - Turkey (23)
4 - Costa Rica (31)
0 - China (55)

GROUP D (25.25)
7 - South Korea (43)
4 - USA (21)
3 - Portugal (4)
3 - Poland (33)

GROUP E (24.25)
7 - Germany (11)
5 - Republic of Ireland (18)
4 - Cameroon (38)
0 - Saudi Arabia (30)

GROUP F (17.00)
5 - Sweden (16)
5 - England (10)
4 - Argentina (2)
1 - Nigeria (40)

GROUP G (17.75)
7 - Mexico (9)
4 - Italy (6)
3 - Croatia (19)
3 - Ecuador (37)

GROUP H (26.25)
7 - Japan (35)
5 - Belgium (20)
3 - Russia (22)
1 - Tunisia (28)


GERMANY 2006

GROUP A (24.25)
9 - Germany (16)
6 - Ecuador (37)
3 - Poland (23)
0 - Costa Rica (21)

GROUP B (26.00)
7 - England (9)
5 - Sweden (14)
3 - Paraguay (30)
1 - Trinidad and Tobago (51)

GROUP C (23.75)
7 - Argentina (4)
7 - Netherlands (3)
3 - Cote d"Ivoire (41)
0 - Serbia and Montenegro (47)

GROUP D (24.50)
9 - Portugal (10)
4 - Mexico (7)
2 - Angola (62)
1 - Iran (19)

GROUP E (18.00)
7 - Italy (12)
6 - Ghana (50)
3 - Czech Republic (2)
1 - USA (8)

GROUP F (21.25)
9 - Brazil (1)
4 - Australia (49)
2 - Croatia (20)
1 - Japan (15)

GROUP G (31.50)
7 - Switzerland (36)
5 - France (5)
4 - South Korea (29)
0 - Togo (56)

GROUP H (26.50)
9 - Spain (6)
6 - Ukraine (40)
1 - Tunisia (28)
1 - Saudi Arabia (32)


2010 DRAW

Pot 1
Spain (1) -- Brazil (2) -- Netherlands (3) -- Italy (4) -- Germany (6) -- Argentina (8) -- England (9) -- South Africa (86)

Pot 2
USA (14) -- Mexico (15) -- Australia (21) -- Honduras (38) -- Japan (43) -- South Korea (52) -- New Zealand (77) -- North Korea (84)

Pot 3
Cameroon (11) -- Cote d'Ivoire (16) -- Chile (17) -- Uruguay (19) -- Nigeria (22) -- Algeria (28) -- Paraguay (30) -- Ghana (37)

Pot 4
Portugal (5) -- France (7) -- Greece (12) -- Switzerland (18) -- Serbia (20) -- Denmark (26) -- Slovenia (33) -- Slovakia (34)





Toughest Groups by Average FIFA Rank

1994
9.00 -- GROUP E -- Italy (1), Norway (5), Ireland (13), Mexico (17)

1998
10.75 -- GROUP G -- Romania (5), England (6), Colombia (9), Tunisia (23)

2002
17.00 -- GROUP F -- Argentina (2), England (10), Sweden (16), Nigeria (40)

2006
18.00 -- GROUP E -- Czech Republic (2), USA (8), Italy (12), Ghana (50)


Easiest Groups by Average FIFA Ranking

1994
27.00 -- GROUP C -- Germany (3), Spain (7), South Korea (39), Bolivia (59)

1998
32.00 -- GROUP D -- Spain (3), Bulgaria (24), Paraguay (30), Nigeria (71)

2002
28.00 -- GROUP C -- Brazil (3), Turkey (23), Costa Rica (31), China (55)

2006
31.50 -- GROUP G -- France (5), South Korea (29), Switzerland (36), Togo (56)

Map: World Cup Draw Pots

Apologies....

I must apologize for the sporadic posts lately. While I make a strong attempt to post every weekday, due to a number of unforseen circumstances, a general lack of time, and the holidays in recent weeks, I have been missing quite a few days. Please bear with me while things get back to normal and I have the time to update daily again. Thanks for your patience and for reading The Best Eleven.

Steve