Scotland Slips to #17

FIFA’s World Rankings are out today, and it’s another minor slip for the Scots, as we drop from 15th to 17th. The friendly loss to the Czechs didn’t help matters, but it really wasn’t a surprise. As much as we should still be happy to be up in the top 20 where we belong, the slow decline since Euro qualifying is a little worrying. The way that the FIFA rankings are set up makes it almost inevitable after a failed qualifying run, but I still hate to see Scotland fall. We’re still only four places off of our all-time high of #13 from October, so the sky is hardly falling, but it’s important for national pride and the profile of Scottish sport that Scotland stay as high up in the rankings as possible. Turkey is currently 101 points behind us in the rankings (they are #20), and a successful Euro 2008 run from them or the Russians could pop them ahead. If Croatia loses out, they could drop a bit, but we should count on all of the Euro 2008 nations gaining rather than losing ground on us as we watch from the pub.

I know it’s only a ranking, and with World Cup qualifying already set, this is the time when it matters least. January 2010 will be the next draw for a major tournament, Euro 2012, but we want to make sure to stay in the second-seeded position we secured for World Cup 2010. A win over the Irish on August 20th would be a nice start to that.