The World Football Elo Ratings is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football. The method used to rank teams is based upon the Elo rating system method but modified to take various football-specific variables into account. Elo should not be confused with the FIFA World Rankings, which is more prevalent because it is the official rating system used by the international governing body of football to rank national teams.

The ratings take into account all international "A" matches for which results could be found. Ratings tend to converge on a team's true strength relative to its competitors after about 30 matches.^[1] Ratings for teams with fewer than 30 matches should be considered provisional.

The FIFA Women's World Rankings uses a modified version of the Elo formula. The FIFA men's ranking, however, uses a non-Elo formula.

Contents 1 Top 60 ranking 2 Strongest teams since the mid to late 1960s 3 List of number one teams 4 Ranking by days as leader since 1 January 2000 (as of 1 August 2012) 5 All-time highest ratings 6 Highest rated matches 7 History 8 Overview 9 Basic calculation principles 9.1 Status of match 9.2 Number of goals 9.3 Result of match 9.4 Expected result of match 9.5 Examples 9.5.1 Example 1 9.5.2 Example 2 10 See also 11 Notes 12 External links

  Top 60 ranking

Current table, as of 16 August 2012, of the World Football Elo rankings, compiled by the World Football Elo Ratings web site.

Each national team's FIFA World Rankings as of 8 August 2012.^[2]

Elo Rank Nation Points Confederation FIFA Rank 1  Spain 2132 UEFA 1 2  Brazil 2033 CONMEBOL 13 3  Germany 2013 UEFA 2 4  England 1958 UEFA 3 5  Argentina 1957 CONMEBOL 7 6  Uruguay 1951 CONMEBOL 4 7  Portugal 1919 UEFA 5 8  Netherlands 1918 UEFA 8 9  Italy 1884 UEFA 6 10  Chile 1876 CONMEBOL 15 11  Mexico 1863 CONCACAF 18 12  Sweden 1845 UEFA 17 13  Croatia 1839 UEFA 9 14  France 1827 UEFA 14 15  Côte d'Ivoire 1822 CAF 16 16  Russia 1817 UEFA 11 17  Ecuador 1791 CONMEBOL 20 18  South Korea 1790 AFC 29 19  Japan 1781 AFC 22 20  Colombia 1774 CONMEBOL 21 21  Australia 1767 AFC 24 22  Denmark 1766 UEFA 10 23  Greece 1765 UEFA 12 24  Czech Republic 1762 UEFA 19 25  Switzerland 1757 UEFA 23 26  United States 1739 CONCACAF 36 27  Paraguay 1738 CONMEBOL 27 28  Turkey 1728 UEFA 30 29  Norway 1720 UEFA 25 30  Egypt 1710 CAF 40  Republic of Ireland 1710 UEFA 26

Elo Rank Nation Points Confederation FIFA Rank 32  Iran 1703 AFC 48 33  Ukraine 1699 UEFA 45 34  Panama 1694 CONCACAF 54  Peru 1694 CONMEBOL 47 36  Romania 1692 UEFA 51 37  Serbia 1683 UEFA 35 38  Scotland 1680 UEFA 46 39  Venezuela 1679 CONMEBOL 52 40  Belgium 1677 UEFA 53 41  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1671 UEFA 31  Ghana 1671 CAF 32 43  Poland 1658 UEFA 54 44  Hungary 1654 UEFA 28 45  Costa Rica 1643 CONCACAF 62 46  Slovenia 1637 UEFA 33 47  Israel 1633 UEFA 82 48  Jamaica 1631 CONCACAF 66 49  China PR 1629 AFC 69 50  Nigeria 1628 CAF 58 51  Cameroon 1626 CAF 59 52  Bulgaria 1610 UEFA 94 53  Montenegro 1609 UEFA 50 54  Tunisia 1605 CAF 41 55  Zambia 1603 CAF 44 56  Honduras 1602 CONCACAF 65  Libya 1602 CAF 38 58  Finland 1597 UEFA 72 59  Austria 1595 UEFA 60 60  Morocco 1594 CAF 68

  Strongest teams since the mid to late 1960s

Time averaged Elo or Elo-like scores are routinely used to compare chess player strengths.^[3][4][5] The following is a list of the national teams with the highest average Elo score from 1 January 1970 to 1 August 2012. Before this time intercontinental play was fairly limited and many nations in Africa, North America, and Asia had played too few games yet to create a representative Elo score. Since Elo scores reflect past accomplishments, the table represents the relative strength of national teams since the mid to late 1960s.

Rank Country Avg Elo 1  Brazil 2010.3 2  (West) Germany[6] 1973.3 3  Italy 1924.2 4  England 1922.5  Netherlands 1922.5 6  Spain 1901.5 7  Argentina 1899.0 8  France 1882.4 9  USSR → Russia[7] 1852.8 10  Czechoslovakia/Czechia[8] 1835.9 11  Yugoslavia → Serbia[9] 1822.1 12  Portugal 1814.2 13  Sweden 1797.1 14  Romania 1784.1 15  Poland 1777.2 16  Mexico 1772.5 17  Uruguay 1768.5

Rank Country Avg Elo 18  Belgium 1760.6 19  Denmark 1757.5 20  Scotland 1742.6 21  Paraguay 1728.2 22  Republic of Ireland 1721.2 23  Chile 1712.1 24  Bulgaria 1711.8 25  Australia 1694.6 26  Austria 1691.5 27  Hungary 1686.6 28  Switzerland 1681.4 29  Iran 1676.0 30  Colombia 1674.4 31  South Korea 1663.6 32  Wales 1657.4 33  Egypt 1653.8 34  Nigeria 1650.5

Rank Country Avg Elo 35  Greece 1650.0 36  Morocco 1648.8 37  Israel 1644.9 38  Peru 1641.2 39  Cameroon 1640.1 40  Norway 1636.6 41  Turkey 1632.4 42  Côte d'Ivoire 1630.4 43  Northern Ireland 1616.8 44  Ghana 1608.1 45  Tunisia 1603.9 46  Iraq 1597.7 47  United States 1596.1 48  Costa Rica 1592.8 49  Japan 1583.3 50  Ecuador 1572.4 51  Algeria 1569.7

  List of number one teams

The following is the list of nations who have achieved the number one position on the World Football Elo Ratings since 2000:

Start Date Nation # of days 5 Jun 1999  Brazil 389 28 Jun 2000  France 708 6 Jun 2002  Argentina 1 7 Jun 2002  France 4 11 Jun 2002  Netherlands 1 12 Jun 2002  Spain 4 16 Jun 2002  Netherlands 5 21 Jun 2002  Brazil 351 7 Jun 2003  Netherlands 4 11 Jun 2003  Brazil 8 19 Jun 2003  Netherlands 83 10 Sep 2003  France 291 27 Jun 2004  Czech Republic 4

Start Date Nation # of days 1 Jul 2004  France 10 11 Jul 2004  Brazil 3 14 Jul 2004  France 35 18 Aug 2004  Argentina 290 4 Jun 2005  Czech Republic 4 8 Jun 2005  Argentina 21 29 Jun 2005  Brazil 102 9 Oct 2005  Netherlands 3 12 Oct 2005  Brazil 265 4 Jul 2006  Italy 43 16 Aug 2006  France 52 7 Oct 2006  Brazil 122 6 Feb 2007  France 1

Start Date Nation # of days 7 Feb 2007  Brazil 140 27 Jun 2007  France 14 11 Jul 2007  Argentina 4 15 Jul 2007  Brazil 334 13 Jun 2008  Brazil /  Netherlands 2 15 Jun 2008  Netherlands 6 21 Jun 2008  Spain 368 24 Jun 2009  Brazil 373 2 Jul 2010  Netherlands 1 3 Jul 2010  Netherlands /  Spain 3 6 Jul 2010  Netherlands 1 7 Jul 2010  Spain Current

  Ranking by days as leader since 1 January 2000 (as of 1 August 2012)

Nation	# of days	Last Date as Leader
Brazil	1878	1 July 2010
Spain	1131 [10]	Current
France	1115	10 July 2007
Argentina	316	14 July 2007
Netherlands	109	6 July 2010
Italy	43	15 August 2006
Czech Republic	8	7 June 2005

  All-time highest ratings

The following is a list of national football teams ranked by their highest Elo score ever reached.

Rank	Nation	Points	Date
1	Hungary	2166	30 June 1954
2	Brazil	2153	17 June 1962
3	Spain	2140	11 July 2010
4	Argentina	2117	3 April 1957
5	France	2105	15 August 2001
6	Netherlands	2100	6 July 2010
7	Germany	2099	4 September 1974 (as West Germany)
8	Italy	2079	20 July 1939
9	Poland	2046	1 September 1974
10	England	2041	22 October 1966
11	Uruguay	2035	13 June 1928
12	Russia	2022	9 October 1983 (as Soviet Union)
13	Czech Republic	1999	27 June 2004
14	Austria	1998	31 May 1934
15	Portugal	1982	15 November 2000
16	Croatia	1967	11 July 1998
17	Serbia	1961	25 June 1998 (as FR Yugoslavia)
18	Denmark	1960	13 June 1986
19	Scotland	1953	10 March 1888
20	Sweden	1950	25 June 1950
21	Mexico	1936	19 June 2005
22	Paraguay	1932	21 February 1954
23	Chile	1918	12 July 2011
24	Belgium	1916	9 September 1981
25	Norway	1913	13 June 2000

  Highest rated matches

A list of the 10 matches between teams with the highest combined Elo ratings (the nation's points before the matches are given).

Rank	Combined points	Nation 1	Elo 1	Nation 2	Elo 2	Score	Date	Occasion	Location
1	4211	Netherlands	2100	Spain	2111	0 : 1	2010-07-10	World Cup F	Johannesburg
2	4161	West Germany	1995	Hungary	2166	3 : 2	1954-07-04	World Cup F	Bern
3	4158	Netherlands	2050	Brazil	2108	2 : 1	2010-07-02	World Cup QF	Port Elizabeth
4	4150	Brazil	2061	Netherlands	2089	0 : 0	2011-06-04	Friendly	Goiânia
5	4148	West Germany	2068	Brazil	2080	0 : 1	1973-06-16	Friendly	Berlin
6	4129	Spain	2085	Germany	2044	1 : 0	2010-07-07	World Cup SF	Durban
7	4119	Brazil	2050	West Germany	2069	1 : 0	1982-03-21	Friendly	Rio de Janeiro
8	4118	Hungary	2108	Brazil	2010	4 : 2	1954-06-27	World Cup QF	Bern
9	4116	Hungary	2141	Uruguay	1975	4 : 2	1954-06-30	World Cup SF	Lausanne
10	4113	West Germany	2079	Netherlands	2034	2 : 1	1974-07-07	World Cup F	Munich

  History

This system, developed by Hungarian-American mathematician Dr. Árpád Élő, is used by FIDE, the international chess federation, to rate chess players, and by the European Go Federation, to rate Go players. In 1997 Bob Runyan adapted the Elo rating system to international football and posted the results on the Internet. He was also the first maintainer of the World Football Elo Ratings web site, now maintained by Kirill Bulygin.

  Overview

The Elo system was adapted for football by adding a weighting for the kind of match, an adjustment for the home team advantage, and an adjustment for goal difference in the match result.

The factors taken into consideration when calculating a team's new rating are:

• The team's old rating
• The considered weight of the tournament
• The goal difference of the match
• The result of the match
• The expected result of the match

The different weights of competitions in descending order are:

• World Cup Finals
• Continental championships finals and Intercontinental tournaments
• World Cup and Continental championship qualifiers
• All other tournaments
• Friendly matches

The single difference is Elo giving a special treatment for minor tournaments, while FIFA consider them as friendly matches.

These ratings take into account all international "A" matches for which results could be found. Ratings tend to converge on a team's true strength relative to its competitors after about 30 matches. Ratings for teams with fewer than 30 matches should be considered provisional. Match data are primarily from International Football 1872 – present web site.

  Basic calculation principles

The basic principle behind the Elo ratings is only in its simplest form similar to that of a league, unlike the FIFA tables who effectively run their table as a normal league table, but with weightings to take into account the other factors, the Elo system has its one formula which takes into account the factors mentioned above. There is no first step as in the FIFA system where a team immediately receives points for the result, there is just one calculation in the Elo system.

The ratings are based on the following formulae:

or

Where;

	= The new team rating
	= The old team rating
	= Weight index regarding the tournament of the match
	= A number from the index of goal differences
	= The result of the match
	= The expected result
	= Points Change

  Status of match

The status of the match is incorporated by the use of a weight constant. The weight is a constant regarding the "weight" or importance of a match, defined by which tournament the match is in, they are as follows;

Tournament or Match type	Index (K)
World Cup Finals	60
Continental Championship and Intercontinental Tournaments	50
World Cup and Continental qualifiers and major tournaments	40
All other tournaments	30
Friendly Matches	20

  Number of goals

The number of goals is taken into account by use of a goal difference index. G is increased by half if a game is won by two goals, and if the game is won by three or more goals by a number decided through the appropriate calculation shown below;

If the game is a draw or is won by one goal

If the game is won by two goals

If the game is won by three or more goals

• Where N is the goal difference

Table of examples:

Goal Difference	Coefficient of K (G)
0	1
+1	1
+2	1.5
+3	1.75
+4	1.875
+5	2
+6	2.125
+7	2.25
+8	2.375
+9	2.5
+10	2.625

  Result of match

W is the result of the game (1 for a win, 0.5 for a draw, and 0 for a loss).

  Expected result of match

W_e is the expected result (win expectancy with a draw counting as 0.5) from the following formula:

where dr equals the difference in ratings plus 100 points for a team playing at home. So dr of 0 gives 0.5, of 120 gives 0.666 to the higher-ranked team and 0.334 to the lower, and of 800 gives 0.99 to the higher-ranked team and 0.01 to the lower.

  Examples

The same examples have been used on the FIFA World Rankings for a fair comparison. Some actual examples should help to make the methods of calculation clear. In this instance it is assumed that three teams of different strengths are involved in a small friendly tournament on neutral territory.

Before the tournament the three teams have the following point totals.

Team	Points
A	630
B	500
C	480

Thus, team A is by some distance the highest ranked of the three: The following table shows the points allocations based on three possible outcomes of the match between the strongest team A, and the somewhat weaker team B:

  Example 1

Team A versus Team B (Team A stronger than Team B)

	Team A	Team B	Team A	Team B	Team A	Team B
Score	3 : 1		1 : 3		2 : 2
	20	20	20	20	20	20
	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1	1
	1	0	0	1	0.5	0.5
	0.679	0.321	0.679	0.321	0.679	0.321
Total (P)	+9.63	-9.63	-20.37	+20.37	-3.58	+3.58

  Example 2

Team B versus Team C (both teams approximately the same strength)

When the difference in strength between the two teams is less, so also will be the difference in points allocation. The following table illustrates how the points would be divided following the same results as above, but with two roughly equally ranked teams, B and C, being involved:

	Team B	Team C	Team B	Team C	Team B	Team C
Score	3 : 1		1 : 3		2 : 2
	20	20	20	20	20	20
	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1	1
	1	0	0	1	0.5	0.5
	0.529	0.471	0.529	0.471	0.529	0.471
Total (P)	+14.13	-14.13	-15.87	+15.87	-0.58	+0.58

Note that Team B loses more ranking points by losing to Team C than by losing to Team A.

  See also

• FIFA World Rankings
• FIFA Women's World Rankings
• Elo rating system
• Unofficial Football World Championships
• Statistical association football predictions

  Notes

  External links

• World Football Elo ratings
• How the rankings are calculated
• Interactive Map of World Football Elo ratings
• FootballDatabase's World Club Ratings (using Elo Formula)
• Excel implementation of World Football Elo rating, very useful for amateur fussball (kicker) championships

International association football FIFA · World Cup · Confederations Cup · U-20 World Cup · U-17 World Cup · Olympics · Minor tournaments · World Rankings · Player of the Year · FIFA Ballon d'Or · Teams · Debuts · Competitions · Federations · Codes Asia AFC – Asian Cup Africa CAF – Africa Cup of Nations North America, Central America and the Caribbean CONCACAF – Gold Cup South America CONMEBOL – Copa América Oceania OFC – Nations Cup Europe UEFA – European Championship Non-FIFA NF-Board – Viva World Cup IGA Island Games Games All-Africa Games Asian Games CARIFTA Games East Asian Games Francophonie Games IOIG Lusophony Games Mediterranean Games Pan American Games Pan Arab Games Pacific Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games See also International women's football.