Henry Conroy posed an intriguing inquiry.
“The top four teams in the Fifa rankings are also the four semi-finalists at the World Cup,”
The FIFA men’s rankings have been updated after each World Cup match, making it a missed opportunity that Martin Tyler wasn’t on hand to announce, “Has this happened before?” Despite a fluctuating order throughout the tournament, the top four teams remained unchanged from their original positions as they entered the semi-finals.
This scenario was undoubtedly influenced by FIFA’s new seeding system, although the teams still had to perform exceptionally well to reach this stage. Spain overcame the fifth and ninth-ranked teams, Portugal and Belgium, respectively, while France defeated the seventh-ranked Morocco. England’s most impressive knockout victory came against 14th-ranked Mexico, while Argentina faced Switzerland, ranked 19th.
Since the introduction of the FIFA men’s rankings in 1993, only the last nine World Cups are considered. In the eight tournaments prior, no semi-final featured more than two teams from the top four rankings at the start of the competition.
Before delving into a plethora of statistics, it’s essential to note that the early rankings were relatively simplistic, which explains why France was ranked 18th and the Netherlands 25th prior to the 1998 semi-finals.
This year’s semi-finalists collectively held a FIFA ranking of 10, the lowest possible unless two teams share the third position. In men’s football, the previous best combined ranking was 25, achieved in 2014:
- Brazil (3) vs Germany (2)
- Netherlands (15) vs Argentina (5)
The highest combined ranking of 75 was recorded in 2002, a tournament known for its surprising outcomes. Only one of the top four teams managed to progress beyond the group stage: France and Argentina were eliminated, while Colombia did not qualify. Their high rankings were mainly due to winning the 2001 Copa América.
The semi-finalists in 2002 were:
- Germany (11) vs South Korea (40)
- Brazil (2) vs Turkey (22)
Brazil proudly represented the FIFA rankings, eventually clinching the championship. Four years later, for the only instance to date, none of the top four teams reached the semi-finals. If you recall that top four, you might need to consult a trivia expert. They were Brazil, Czech Republic, Netherlands, and Mexico. The semi-final matchups in 2006 featured a significant clash between two teams ranked outside the top 10.
- Germany (19) vs Italy (13)
- Portugal (7) vs France (8)
FIFA did not establish rankings for women’s football until after the 1999 World Cup, so the records only cover the last five tournaments. The women’s competitions have generally seen higher-ranked teams, with no semi-finalists ranked outside the top 10. The weakest semi-final lineup, based on rankings, had a collective score of 23, observed in 2023:
- Spain (6) vs Sweden (3)
- Australia (10) vs England (4)
On two occasions, in 2007 and 2015, three of the top four teams reached the semi-finals. The 2015 Women’s World Cup resulted in a combined ranking of just 13, with France (No 3) and Sweden (No 5) being the two teams absent from the world’s top six.
- United States (2) vs Germany (1)
- Japan (4) vs England (6)
You win some, you lose some
Dirk Maas raised an intriguing point.
“Sweden’s 5-1 victory against Tunisia was followed by a 5-1 defeat against Netherlands,”
Chris Roe was quick to highlight a more favorable turnaround at the 2006 World Cup, mentioning, “Are there more examples of stunning World Cup wins followed by heavy defeats with the similar scoreline, or vice versa?” After their substantial opening loss in Leipzig, Ukraine managed to escape Group H by narrowly defeating Tunisia, ultimately progressing further in the tournament than Spain, reaching the quarter-finals before falling to Italy.
Jeremy Simmonds pointed out an interesting scenario in Group 2 during the 1954 finals, a topic we recently discussed regarding debut wins. While Turkey was overwhelming South Korea 7-0 in Geneva, West Germany suffered a humiliating 8-3 defeat to Hungary in Basel, necessitating a playoff to determine who would join the Magical Magyars in the quarter-finals.
“Ukraine lost 4-0 to Spain, and then beat Saudi Arabia by the same score in their next group game.” Jeremy noted. “West Germany rebounded from a five-goal defeat, beating Turkey by a five-goal margin (7-2),”
Ageless record-breakers
Paul Gage posed an intriguing question.
“They went all the way to the final, where they exacted revenge on Hungary, winning 3-2 in Berne.”
Dean Whearty offered a well-known suggestion, stating, “Lionel Messi is Argentina’s youngest and oldest goalscorer – has any other footballer achieved this accolade or is likely to in the future?”
Knowledge archive
Will Sturgeon inquired, “This summer, Cristiano Ronaldo became Portugal’s oldest World Cup scorer at the age of 41. He also netted against Iran back in 2006 to become his country’s youngest World Cup scorer – a record which amazingly still stands to this day.” He recalled four instances: Brazil in 2002, West Germany in 1990, Argentina in 1986, and Brazil again in 1962. “Has any team been knocked out of the World Cup by the eventual winners more times than England?”
The brief response was: yes. France and the Netherlands have both been eliminated by the eventual champions on four occasions, while Brazil has faced this fate five times. Germany has also experienced this situation four times, all in finals, including results recorded as West Germany.
Brazil (5): Italy (1938, semi-final), Uruguay (1950, final game); Argentina (1978, second group stage); Italy (1982, second group stage); France (1998, final).
France (4): Italy (1938, second round); Brazil (1958, semi-finals); England (1966, group stage); Argentina (1978, group stage).
Netherlands (4): West Germany (1974, final); Argentina (1978, final); West Germany (1990, last 16); Brazil (1994, quarter-final).
Germany (4): England (1966, final); Italy (1982, final); Argentina (1986, final); Brazil (2002, final).
In 2026, it was noted that back in 2006, Italy defeated Germany in the semi-finals and went on to beat France in the final, adding one to each of their tallies. Four years later, Spain triumphed over the Netherlands in the 2010 final and Germany in the semi-finals, while in 2014, Germany eliminated France in the quarter-finals before a memorable semi-final victory over Brazil.
In 2018, France did not knock out any of the teams mentioned above, but they lost the 2022 final to Argentina, who also eliminated the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. This means France has now been knocked out by the eventual champions on seven occasions, leading Brazil, Germany, and the Netherlands, each with six.
However, another contender has emerged: Argentina. The Albiceleste have suffered defeats in three finals – 1930, 1990, and 2014 – and were eliminated from the group stage in 1958 by West Germany. They also lost to England in the 1966 quarter-finals and were part of a three-team group topped by Italy in 1982.
Ultimately, Argentina lost 4-3 to eventual winners France in the last 16 of 2018, which means they are now tied with France at seven. If France and Argentina meet in this year’s final, the loser will take the lead in this unfortunate statistic as a consolation prize.
Can you help?
Matthew Wilkie noted, “I can think of four times this has happened: Brazil in 2002, West Germany in 1990, Argentina in 1986 and Brazil again in 1962. Is anybody else as unlucky as us?” [We’re also keen on examples from beyond the big dance, if you have them.]
Mike Frost wrote, “Rubén Vargas scored the winning penalty for Switzerland against Colombia’s Camilo Vargas,”
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