The rating of the most powerful soccer teams in the world is determined based on the FIFA rating. This system has existed since 1993, determining the strength of national teams at the moment. Over the years, it has been repeatedly changed, and in June 2018 it was announced that after the World Cup a fundamentally new rating system will be introduced, which has not yet been presented. So for now, determining the leaders of world football, you can focus on the latest version of the FIFA rating and the results of the recently ended world cup in Russia.
1. France
The strongest team in the world in football is currently considered the French team. Success in Russia was the second victory of the French in world championships in history. At the same time, in the FIFA ranking before the start of the tournament, the team occupied only seventh place.
France quite confidently held the qualifying tournament in group A. The start, of course, was not the most impressive (0-0 in Belarus), but then 4 victories in a row followed. Didier Deschamps gave the only misfire in the away match with the Swedes, losing 1: 2. But this did not prevent her from confidently taking first place in the group.
At the world championship, the French without nerves went through the group stage, beating the national teams of Australia (2: 1) and Peru (1: 0) and tied with the Danes. This result again brought them victory in the preliminary stage.
In the 1/8 finals, the French were opposed by the Argentine national team led by Lionel Messi. But the charisma of one leader was not enough, even though the match turned out to be one of the most outstanding. It ended with a score of 4: 3 in favor of the French. In the next stage, Uruguay was defeated (2: 0), and then Belgium (1: 0).
In the final, the French confidently outplayed the Croats 4: 2, for the second time having won the world title. Now you know what the strongest football team in the world is.
2. Croatia
As we already said in this article, in the decisive match of the 2018 World Cup, the Croats opposed the French. Their entry into the finals was a real sensation, so now they are rightly ranked among the most powerful teams in the World Cup. Moreover, in the FIFA ranking before the start of the tournament, she was only in 20th place.
Interestingly, the qualifying tournament was not easy for the Croats. Having lost the away teams of Iceland and Turkey, they took only the second place in the group and were forced to break through to the mundial through the joints. To the rivals they got the Greeks. Future triumphs of the world championship removed almost all questions about the winner in the first match, defeating opponents 4: 1. There were no goals in the return game.
At the World Cup in Russia, Croatia was seriously paid attention to when in the second round she did not leave the chances of the Argentine national team, winning 3-0. In the playoffs, the Croats were lucky: they won two penalty shootouts (against Denmark and Russia), and in the semifinals they defeated the British in extra time. Despite the defeat in the finals, this championship was the most successful in the history of this team.
3. Belgium
The national team of Belgium was among the strongest teams in the World Cup. This was expected, because in the FIFA ranking it was in third place.
In the qualifying tournament, the Belgians only once lost points by playing a draw at home with the Greeks. Victories in the remaining matches secured them first place in the group. At the world championship, the team defeated Panama (3: 0), Tunisia (5: 2) and England (1: 0).
In the 1/8 finals, they were defeated by the Japanese, who lost in a dramatic confrontation with a score of 2: 3. In the quarter finals, the Belgians triumphantly outplayed the Brazilians (2: 1) and only France was able to stop their victorious march.
Roberto Martinez wards won the match for third place, becoming one of the strongest national football teams.
4. England
In this ranking there was a place for the British. In their history, they only once became world champions (back in 1966), without getting into the finals after that and only once having played 1/2. This time everything turned out to be successful for them, they were included in the list of the world's strongest football teams, even despite the 12th place in the FIFA ranking before the tournament.
In the qualifying tournament, the wards of Gareth Southgate did not experience any problems - 8 wins, 2 draws and first place in the group. At the World Cup in Russia, they secured a place in the playoffs after the second round, defeating Tunisia (2: 1) and Panama (6: 1).
In the 1/8 finals, the Colombians were defeated only by a penalty, but in 1/4 the Swedes were replayed, as they say, in class 2: 0. Only the defeat of the Croats in extra time for the second time in history stopped them from reaching the final. At the same time, the British once again confirmed that they can be considered one of the most powerful teams in the world in football.
But what about the leaders?
The strongest team in the world football before the Russian championship, according to the FIFA rating, was the German team.
At the World Cup, it immediately became clear that the Germans had serious problems. It all started with their defeat from the Mexican national team (0: 1), then they defeated the Swedes (2: 1), scoring the decisive goal from the free kick in the compensated time. To leave the group, they needed to beat the outsider of the quartet in the final meeting - the South Korean national team.
The Germans created a lot of scoring chances at the goal of the Asians, but the ball stubbornly did not go into the net. In the end, they launched a decisive assault, which resulted in two goals in their own goal. After this defeat, they took only the last place in the group, continuing the sinister tradition of recent years, when the winner of the previous World Cup at the next could not even reach the playoffs.
Brazilian failure
Another team that unusually early left the race is Brazil. In the FIFA ranking before the start of the tournament, she took second place.
True, unlike the Germans, she was able to leave the group, although it all started with a draw against the Swiss team.
In the 1/8 finals, five-time world champions defeated Mexico 2-0, but were unable to cope with the Belgian team in the quarterfinals. The stars of the South American team led by Neymar scored only one goal against Thibaut Courtois, receiving two in return. Of course, for the majority of the national teams on the planet, reaching the quarter finals of the World Cup would be an undoubted success, but not for the Brazil national team. Having won five times in the mundiales, they accustomed their fans to the triumphs that are now required of them in every tournament.
The strongest team in history
In this article we will tell you what the most powerful soccer team in the history of this sport is.
According to many experts, it was the German national team sample of 1974. In its composition, stars such as Gerd Muller, considered one of the most effective forwards in the history of football, Franz Beckenbauer, Paul Breitner shone.
This generation of the German national team began to conquer their fans back in 1972 at the World Cup, when they won by defeating the USSR national team 3-0 in the final.
At the world championship in their homeland, they only confirmed that they are a perfectly tuned mechanism, which is difficult to oppose. In the final, they defeated the Dutch with a score of 2: 1.