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THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS 2018
TM
MAKING HISTORY
ENGLISH EDITION WWW.FIFA.COM/MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2018
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LETTER FROM A FIFA LEGEND
Dear readers of FIFA 1904,
When I was a kid, my football heroes were Maradona, Today, youngsters look up to me in the way that I, as a
Bernd Schuster, Zico and Vicente Álvarez. Maradona kid, admired Vicente, Maradona, Zico and Schuster.
was the pure reference in football. They called me This comes with some responsibility. As an ambassador
“Schuster” because of my long blond hair. Zico caught of the FIFA Foundation, I recently visited Guatemala in
my attention during the first World Cup I watched, the tragic aftermath of a series of volcanic eruptions. It
1982 in Spain. And as far as Vicente Álvarez goes: helped bring hope to young people traumatised by the
Vicente was the player I always strived to become. loss of lives and their standard of living.
Vicente was closer to me than my other heroes. He When I was playing football with the kids there, it was
was the captain of Celta Vigo. And when I made my one of the biggest moments of my life. Football is the
professional debut, he was on the pitch. That was only tool that can ease your pain, even in the worst
fantastic for me. Because the moment you play in the moment of your life. I am really proud and happy to
first division for the first time, you never forget it. We have been there.
kept in touch throughout my whole career. Vicente still
lives in Vigo. What I can say to all children around the world is:
Philipp Schmidli / FIFA via Getty Images
enjoy football, football is happiness, go to the pitch
I made my debut for Celta at the Santiago Bernabéu and have some fun. And dream big!
in Madrid, the home stadium of Real, the club I later
played ten years for and with whom I won two Yours in football,
Champions League titles. Míchel Salgado
FIFA 1904 / 1
CONTENTS
THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS™
8 Who has made it onto the shortlists for The Best FIFA Football
Awards™ 2018?
12 Oliver Kahn and Manuel Neuer are still the only goalkeepers
to have ever featured in the top three. We spoke to the two
Germans to find out what a player needs to do to make it so
far.
8 18 What tends to happen once you have scaled the heights of
22 world football? We take a look at the careers of some former
winners to find out what the future held in store for them
after being named FIFA World Player of the Year.
22 Marta has been nominated for the FIFA World Player accolade
for the 13th time. A tribute.
26 George Weah is the only African to have ever won a FIFA
World Player award. A look back at his incredible career.
28 Good is not always good enough. Iniesta, Henry, Bergkamp –
just three players who would have been worthy winners, but
always found themselves behind someone else in the voting.
30 Technique, titles, goals: what players, coaches, journalists and
fans look for when voting for The Best FIFA Football Awards.
26
36 Oscars and The Best: Hollywood stars have their whole
careers to try and win an Oscar. Footballers, however, tend to
have about 15 years in which to win a World Player award.
Marc Salvador/FIFA, Getty Images (3)
36
COVER PICTURE
A red stage curtain sets the scene for
The Best FIFA Football Awards™ 2018.
2 / FIFA 1904
FOOTBALL IN PICTURES
40 4 THE MONTH IN PICTURES Images from the FIFA U-20
Women’s World Cup 2018; Usain Bolt in training with the
Central Coast Mariners.
34 SNAPSHOT Cristiano Ronaldo is already an icon in and
around Turin.
47 40 FIRST LOVE Svaneti, Georgia.
47 A CAREER IN PANINI STICKERS Ronaldinho.
54 THEN AND NOW From Liverpool to Istanbul.
58 PHOTO ARCHIVE The Seleção at the Maracanã (1974).
58
56 THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL
43 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE “The last few months have been
overwhelming. Beautifully overwhelming.”
44 FIFA NEWS AND THE FIFA/COCA-COLA MEN’S WORLD
RANKING
48 NEWS FROM FIFA MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS
56 A FIFA LEGEND’S CAREER Diego Forlán.
Caio Vilela/fotogloria, Getty Images (3), picture-alliance/dpa
62 61 CARTOON Mordillo.
62 INNOVATIONS The history of floodlights.
63 FANS Autographs still enjoy cult status.
64 PUBLICATION DETAILS/COMING UP
FIFA 1904 / 3
THE MONTH IN PICTURES
We did it!
Japan are all smiles in their dressing room after winning the FIFA U-20 Women’s
World Cup France 2018 thanks to a 3-1 win over Spain in Vannes on 24 August.
4 / FIFA 1904
Alex Grimm / FIFA via Getty Images
FIFA 1904 / 5
THE MONTH IN PICTURES
Superstar novice
Usain Bolt, the world 100m and 200m record holder as well as eight-time Olympic
gold medallist, takes a breather while training with the pros of Central Coast Mariners
in Gosford, Australia. By his own admission, he is struggling to adapt to the quick
changes of pace that are typical in football. Bolt hung up his running spikes in 2017
and has already trained with Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Mamelodi Sundowns
(South Africa) and Strømsgodset (Norway).
6 / FIFA 1904
Ashley Feder / FIFA via Getty Images
FIFA 1904 / 7
THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS
TM
RUN
N E
H
NIN
The Best FIFA Football Awards™ will take place in London on
T
24 September 2018. We now know the names of the nominees,
G all of whom enjoyed stunning campaigns last season.
I
THE BEST FIFA MEN’S PLAYER
Cristiano Ronaldo Luka Modrić Mohamed Salah
(Portugal/Real Madrid, now Juventus) (Croatia/Real Madrid) (Egypt/Liverpool)
THE BEST FIFA WOMEN’S PLAYER
Getty Images (15)
Ada Hegerberg Dzsenifer Marozsán Marta
(Norway/Olympique Lyonnais) (Germany/Olympique Lyonnais) (Brazil/Orlando Pride)
8 / FIFA 1904THE BEST FIFA MEN’S COACH
Zlatko Dalić Didier Deschamps Zinédine Zidane
(Croatia/Croatia national team) (France/France national team) (France/formerly Real Madrid)
THE BEST FIFA WOMEN’S COACH
Reynald Pedros Asako Takakura Sarina Wiegman
(France/Olympique Lyonnais) (Japan/Japan national team) (Netherlands/Netherlands national team)
THE BEST FIFA GOALKEEPER
Thibaut Courtois Hugo Lloris Kasper Schmeichel
(Belgium/Chelsea, now Real Madrid) (France/Tottenham Hotspur) (Denmark/Leicester City)
FIFA 1904 / 9FIFA FAN AWARD
Sebastián Carrera Peru fans Japan and Senegal fans
(Deportes Puerto Montt, Chile)
FIFA PUSKÁS AWARD
Gareth Bale Denis Cheryshev Lazaros Christodoulopoulos Giorgian De Arrascaeta
(Real Madrid) – v. Liverpool (Russia) – v. Croatia (AEK Athens) – v. Olympiacos (Cruzeiro) – v. América MG
Riley McGree Lionel Messi Benjamin Pavard Ricardo Quaresma
(Newcastle Jets) – v. Melbourne City (Argentina) – v. Nigeria (France) – v. Argentina (Portugal) – v. IR Iran
Getty Images (14)
Cristiano Ronaldo Mohamed Salah
(Real Madrid) – v. Juventus (Liverpool) – v. Everton
FIFA 1904 / 11THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS
TM
THE PURSUIT OF
GREATNESS
Mike Meyer (2)
12 / FIFA 1904Manuel Neuer, one of the best
goalkeepers in the world, finished third
in the voting for the FIFA Ballon d’Or in
2014. FIFA 1904 called in on the
German world champion in Munich.
By Annette Braun in Munich
Icon
German world champion
Manuel Neuer inspires fans
with his performances on
the pitch as well as his
personable nature off it.
FIFA 1904 / 13THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS
TM
All is calm today, a Tuesday afternoon, in And then there is a little group of people
Grünwald, a leafy suburb of Munich. The who have congregated by the side of the
sun is shining, the birds are singing, and road, mainly young girls in football shirts
every now and again a car drives by. The with their mobile phones in their hands,
road is lined with detached houses, and ready to snap the next selfie. Grünwald is,
there is a little supermarket and even an after all, home to the Bayern Munich
indoor swimming pool, which probably training ground, a huge complex with
isn’t doing a roaring trade today in these offices, pitches and a club shop.
Sweeper-keeper extraordinaire
sweltering temperatures.
Neuer took “playing out from the back”
to a whole new level at Brazil 2014. The levels of excitement rise when the first
car makes its way out of the garage.
Behind the wheel is Joshua Kimmich, who
is happy to lean out of the window to sign
autographs and pose for selfie after selfie.
He is quickly followed by a waving Thomas
Müller and then by Robert Lewandowski,
who thanks the fans for their impromptu
rendition of “Happy Birthday”.
One player who is conspicuous by his
absence from the procession leaving the
garage is a certain Manuel Neuer, the
captain of both Bayern and Germany. He’s
missing for a good reason though – he’s
due to sit down with FIFA 1904 for an
interview. Sure enough, he appears
straight from the shower, casually dressed
in a summery white shirt. “Busy day,
today!” he says with a smile. A few inter-
views, a photoshoot – none of this is new
territory for him – but he’s known for
finding time for the media and he’s cer-
tainly at ease. Just as he is on the pitch,
where he’s known for his composure, even
when the pressure is on.
NEUER THE SWEEPER-KEEPER
Images of Neuer in action come racing into
my mind. Germany v. Algeria in the round
of 16 at Brazil 2014, for example, when
the eventual champions suddenly found
themselves up against it and needed an
excellent Neuer to act as a “sweeper-keep-
er” to repel wave after wave of attacks by
the North Africans before Die Mannschaft
claimed their place in the last eight. “Goal-
Stefan Leitner
keeping has changed a lot in recent years.
The standard is now extremely high, and
14 / FIFA 1904part and parcel of the modern, attacking but it’s also about getting through the judging by the number of shirts with
game,” says Neuer, who, of course, is far rocky patches. Neuer missed most of the Neuer’s name and number on the back.
too modest to ever say that he helped to 2017/18 season through injury, and battled He’s a role model and, as captain, an icon,
shape modern goalkeeping with such back to fitness just in time for the World something that Neuer is well aware of.
performances. Cup in Russia. The entire season was a “Whether you are the best or not, as a
challenge for him mentally too because if goalkeeper you have to be a leader. You
Fans, team-mates and journalists, however, you are one of the best goalkeepers in the have to talk a lot, give instructions, organ-
have all been effusive in their praise for a world, you want to be out on the pitch to ise your defence as well as your team’s
man who has been named the “World’s prove it. He’s put it behind him now build-up play. That means that you are
Best Goalkeeper” by the International though, and there is nobody happier to be automatically the voice of your team,” he
Federation of Football History & Statistics back out on the pitch doing what he does says. “Because of how loud I shout and
(IFFHS) on four separate occasions. In best. because of my presence, I can reach six
2014, Neuer’s stand-out performances players in our team – the four defenders
saw him finish third in the voting for the
FIFA Ballon d’Or. Oliver Kahn is the only
“TALENT, DESIRE, HARD and the two central midfielders. It’s harder
to reach the rest of the team because it’s
other goalkeeper to have ever made the WORK, THE CORRECT so loud in the stadium, but that is where
top three. “Match highlights mostly focus LIFESTYLE, CHASING body language comes into play. Then it’s
on goals, after all, that is what fans really all about signals, a language that every
want to see. Goals. That means that
YOUR GOALS WITH footballer understands.”
attackers tend to be in the spotlight more, PROFESSIONALISM
and that is why they are always up for – YOU NEED IT ALL Although he’s loud on the pitch, off it he is
individual awards. It was a special moment calmness personified, a man at ease with
for me when I was named in the top three. TO BE THE BEST.” himself and with his desire to put even
I felt very honoured,” he says. more trophies in his cabinet. “After last
“YOU START EVERY SEASON FROM season and the World Cup, we have a lot
At the same time, Neuer stresses that SCRATCH” to make up for – with both teams,” he
while he was proud to have finished in the Neuer has never had a problem with says, ever determined to be the best
top three, the team will always come first motivation, even though he has already goalkeeper he possibly can be. And with
for him: “Football is a team sport. Working won so much in his career. “I set myself that, the interview is over. He stands up,
together towards something, chasing and goals for every training session. If, at the shakes my hand and duly sets off for his
ultimately winning a title together, that is a start of the season, there are 21 points up next appointment on today’s to-do list,
sensational feeling.” for grabs in a fitness test, I want to get greeting the photographers with yet
those 21 points. If I struggle in a sprint test, another warm smile and a cheery “Hi, how
As a young boy, Neuer dreamt of being I want to take the test again in two weeks’ are you all today?”
one of the best players in the world, of time – and get a better result,” he says.
making it through the Schalke 04 academy
with his team-mates, step by step with all It’s fair to say that Neuer is a perfectionist.
of the highs and lows that would inevitably “As soon as you stop improving, you
come their way. To actually then make it to automatically go backwards. You start
the top and see off all comers, says Neuer, every season from scratch, so you have to
required a lot of character. “Talent, desire, work hard and do everything again. That
hard work, the correct lifestyle, chasing desire, that motivation – you have to find it
your goals with professionalism – you need within you. I am happy to say that the fire
it all to be the best. You have to find your still burns within me,” he says.
own path and make sure you stay on it.”
It’s also fair to say that his fans – like those
Part of it is not losing your focus after waiting patiently outside for an autograph
winning a treble or lifting the World Cup, or a selfie – appreciate that attitude,
FIFA 1904 / 15THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS
TM
“I ALWAYS NEEDED
CHALLENGES”
Apart from Manuel Neuer, the only other goalkeeper to have finished among the top three in a
FIFA World Player vote is Oliver Kahn, the former Germany captain and now a TV pundit and
successful businessman. Kahn sat down with FIFA 1904 to talk about pressure, and about who
he thinks will win this year’s The Best FIFA Men’s Player award.
Oliver Kahn spoke to Annette Braun.
Oliver, what does a goalkeeper need to be the games with a determination to show just why I hero or you may be the fall guy. You have to get
best in the world? He has to be able to help his was “the world’s best goalkeeper”. over your mistakes quickly and see defeats as a
team with saves and reactions at crucial mo chance to learn, to get stronger. Turning all of
ments. For me, that is still the main job of a So you never saw that as something that held that tension into positive energy is part of the
goalkeeper, and it is something that has been you back? As a sportsman, you are always art of goalkeeping.
neglected in recent years. More and more focus fighting a battle with yourself. Of course, there
has been placed on the keeper’s technical were always times when I would rather have You finished second in the vote for the FIFA
quality. How good is he with the ball at his feet? hidden or not even gone out onto the pitch. It World Player of the Year award in 2002. What
How does he get involved in the game? That’s was at times like those that the tag of “the did that award mean to you? At the time, it
important, but it’s not more important than his world’s best goalkeeper” could weigh heavily. didn’t really register with me because profes
main task – to stop the ball going in the net. sional football is relentless and doesn’t give you
When, for example? The Champions League time to think. It was only after my career that I
What is more difficult – to become the best, final in 1999, when we lost the game in injury was able to sit down and reflect on what I had
or to stay the best? To become the best in the time, was extremely hard for me. I had to go achieved. For me personally, it was something
world, you need to make a lot of sacrifices. I away and process it all because it was the first incredible to be named as the best player at a
didn’t mind. I saw it as motivation as well as a time I had ever experienced such a brutal defeat. World Cup and, as a goalkeeper, it’s virtually
challenge. It’s much harder to stay at the top It was hard for me to start from the beginning unheard of to finish second in a vote for the
though, because people start to expect more of again. And the 2006 World Cup, when Jens World Player of the Year. For a Bayern player,
you, and you expect more of yourself too. All of Lehmann was pushing me hard to be number it’s normally a disaster if you finish second, but
a sudden, you can no longer be happy with just one, also springs to mind because every little I really was happy with that second place
an average performance. thing I did was scrutinised. (laughs).
The IFFHS named you the “World’s Best Coming through times like those – is that Who, in your eyes, is the best goalkeeper in
Goalkeeper” three times. Was that good or what makes the difference between a very the world at the moment? Keylor Navas played
bad for you? It was good for me. In my career, good goalkeeper and the best? As a goalkeep a major role in Real Madrid’s Champions League
I always needed challenges to keep my motiv er, it is important that you take responsibility, victory, but this year a lot of the spotlight was
ation levels as high as possible. I used to go into that you live with the fact that you may be the on the World Cup. Thibaut Courtois was very
16 / FIFA 1904A titan in goal No striker
ever enjoyed facing Oliver
Kahn. Today, Kahn is a
successful businessman
and TV pundit.
consistent, and Hugo Lloris lifted the trophy When you were playing, you always pushed the time. For me, it’s important to work with
and also played well. It is Kasper Schmeichel’s yourself to be the best. How difficult was it people, to build a team that is motivated, and
performances that I remember most though. for you to slot back into “normal” life? to work with that team towards our goals. I
He saved a last-minute penalty against Croatia That’s the biggest challenge for any profes- enjoy being a mentor. It spurs me on and gives
and then saved another two spot kicks in the sional athlete. It’s almost like you are sat in a me energy.
shoot-out. That was what you might call a room with the lights on, and then someone
typical goalkeeper’s game! comes along and switches them off. All of a
sudden, it’s extremely dark. The moment you
And the best player? Cristiano Ronaldo was, lose the very thing that has shaped your entire
once again, sensational in the Champions life leaves you feeling empty, but I was able to
League. Messi didn’t win the major titles last find a new path relatively quickly. I went back
season. He didn’t really play well at the World to studying and, today, I would describe myself
Cup either, and he wasn’t able to leave his as a football entrepreneur.
VI Images via Getty Images
mark on the tournament. The Croats were the
surprise packages. Luka Modrić won the Do you still push yourself to be the best?
Champions League last season, and he had an Today, it’s about being successful in business
incredible World Cup too. For me, he must be and delivering a first-class product. It’s no
the favourite this year. longer about being the best at something all
FIFA 1904 / 17THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS™
AFTER THE
AWARD
Once you’ve won a FIFA World Player of the Year
award, it can never be taken away from you. But
does the award actually go on to have a major
effect on a player’s career?
By Perikles Monioudis
The FIFA World Player of the Year, the
highest individual accolade the game
has to offer, has been around since
1991. To stand a chance of winning it,
you have to have been one thing –
better than the rest in any given year.
That’s an achievement in itself, of
course, so it begs the question – what
happens once a player has received
the award? Do winners tend to reach
even greater heights in the next
season? The award itself has had
many guises – FIFA World Player of
the Year (1991-2009), FIFA Ballon
d’Or (2010-2015), and The Best since
2016 – but what did the winners go
on to achieve?
It’s not an easy question to answer as
a player’s career can take any number
of directions – anyone can be struck
down by injury, anyone can see Lady
Luck smile on someone else in a
crucial moment in a big competition,
and anyone can flop after making a
move to a new club.
Lothar Matthäus A midfield maestro at work
(Inter Milan, August 1991).
18 / FIFA 1904Brazil’s Ronaldo won the FIFA World Player
of the Year award three times in six years
– 1996, 1997 and 2002. After starting his
career with Cruzeiro, he crossed the
Atlantic as a teenager in 1994 to join PSV
Eindhoven, where he would stay for two
years before joining FC Barcelona in 1996
and then Inter Milan just 12 months later.
After a five-year spell at the San Siro, he
switched to Real Madrid, where he also
spent five years (2002-2007) before joining
Inter’s city rivals AC Milan for 12 months
ahead of seeing his career out back home
at Corinthians (2009-2011). In other words:
whenever Ronaldo was named the best
player in the world, he was either on the
cusp of joining a new club or had just
completed a transfer.
When he was named FIFA World Player of
Ronaldo Pace, power and elegance (Brazilian
Olympic team, July 1996). the Year 1997, for example, he had already
joined Inter Milan, a club that had designs
on the Serie A title. In the end, Ronaldo
did not fire them to the title, but his
MATTHÄUS TAKES FIRST AWARD second season with the Milan giants was a
When Lothar Matthäus won the inaugural rather unforgettable one – for all the
FIFA World Player of the Year award in wrong reasons as he endured an injury-rid-
1991, he was already an Inter Milan den campaign and only played in 19
stalwart, having joined the club in 1988. matches. It was to get worse though as in
In 1990, he led West Germany to World November 1999, he ruptured a tendon in
Cup glory in Italy, a country he was al- his right knee and missed four months of
ready rather familiar with. That achieve- the season, only to injure his knee again
ment was rewarded with the first FIFA just seven minutes into his comeback.
World Player of the Year title a year later, Ronaldo feared for his career, and ultim
but his time at the Nerazzurri was drawing ately missed 17 months of action, but he
to a close, with Juventus making a big bounced back in some style. In 2002, he
play for his services. A move was on the secured a move to Real Madrid on the
cards – until Matthäus suffered a cruciate back of his exploits at the World Cup in
ligament injury in April 1992 that is. A few Korea/Japan, where he finished as top
months later, the German maestro did goalscorer (eight goals, including both
make a move – but back to Bayern goals in Brazil’s 2-0 win over Germany in
Munich, a club he had graced from 1984 the final) and led the Seleçao to their fifth
to 1988, where he promptly scored the World Cup title. And, sure enough, FIFA
Bongarts/Getty Images, Bob Thomas/Getty Images
goal of the season. After hanging up his named him World Player of the Year 2002
boots in 2000, Matthäus moved into too.
management at both international level
with Bulgaria and Hungary, and at club
level in Vienna, Salzburg and Belgrade, to
name but three of his stops.
FIFA 1904 / 19Lionel Messi Imagination and creativity rolled
into one (Argentinian national team, June 2012).
Zinédine Zidane Technical perfection (French Ronaldinho Solo runs and goals that will live Cristiano Ronaldo No prizes for guessing
national team, July 1998). long in the memory (Brazilian national team, who’s taking this free kick (Portuguese national
June 2005). team, June 2010).
ZIDANE THE MAN RONALDO, MESSI, RONALDO, MESSI...
Injuries, move after move, incredible highs Another award winner, Ronaldinho (2004 Matthäus may have been the first to be
and lows – that was Ronaldo’s career in a and 2005), had a rather more turbulent named FIFA World Player of the Year, but
nutshell. Another World Player of the Year career. After his first big move, from the only players to have won it more than
winner, Zinédine Zidane, certainly experi- Grêmio to Paris Saint-Germain (2001- once are Ronaldo, Zidane and Ronaldinho
enced his fair share of highs in a career 2003), he also graced the shirts of FC ... as well as two superstars who have
with “only” four clubs: AS Cannes (1988- Barcelona (2003-2008) and AC Milan dominated the award for the past decade
1992), Bordeaux (1992-1996), Juventus (2008-2010) before taking his talents back – a certain Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel
imago/Pressefoto Baumann, imago/Contrast, imago/Photogamma, imago/Xinhua
(1996-2001) and finally Real Madrid to various clubs in Brazil and to Querétaro Messi. The Portuguese claimed the trophy
(2001-2006), a club he recently coached in Mexico (2014-2015). His two FIFA in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017, and
to impressive success too (2016-2018). World Player of the Year awards, however, the Argentinian in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
for 2004 and 2005, came during his time and 2015 – both men currently have five
It was his performances at the 1998 World at Barça when he was at the peak of his titles to their name. The only other player
Cup and at EURO 2000 that saw him powers. His subsequent spell at AC Milan to have matched them is Brazil’s Marta,
crowned FIFA World Player of the Year did not quite hit the same lofty heights, who has also won the FIFA Women’s
1998 and 2000, however, with his third and he called time on his European adven- World Player of the Year title five times –
award in 2003 coming during his time at tures after just two seasons at the San in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Real. His was a career of consistently Siro.
outstanding performances, trophies and Will “CR7” or Messi one day add a sixth
stunning goals, not least his unforgettable title to their collection before they hang
strike in the 2002 Champions League final their boots up? Only time will tell. And we
against Bayer Leverkusen. all hope that they will still be gracing our
game for a long time to come yet.
FIFA 1904 / 21THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS™
RELIABLY Buda Mendes / Getty Images
Gooooal! An elated Marta after converting her penalty in the shoot-out against Sweden at the Maracanã in Rio at the Women’s Olympic
Football Tournament 2016 (3-4; 16 August 2016).
22 / FIFA 1904BRILLIANT
The mere mention of Marta strikes fear into the hearts of defenders
everywhere, yet seldom has such a unique, world-conquering talent worked
so hard for the team. Now the Brazilian superstar has been nominated for
the FIFA World Player accolade for the 13th time.
By Perikles Monioudis
The number 13 is traditionally considered for the woman born Marta Vieira da Silva, good use for the benefit of the team. She
to bring bad luck, but the opposite is true who would go on to win the most covet can mix up her game, dropping back into
in Marta’s case, as the highly gifted FIFA ed award in women’s football five times in midfield to act as playmaker, switching to
Legend is in the running for this year’s The a row from 2006 to 2010. This feat alone the flank, or playing as the lone striker if
Best FIFA Women’s Player award – the 13th cemented her reputation as arguably the need be.
time she has been nominated. That is an greatest ever women’s player, and she
-
extraordinary achievement and one that is didn’t do badly over the next few years Her breathtaking dribbling skills and shoot
a tribute not only to her performances, either, finishing second in 2011, 2012 and ing prowess have not deserted her, either.
but also to the consistency that has en 2014 and third in 2013. Seldom has such a unique, world conquering
-
abled her to stay at the top for so long. talent worked so hard for the team, which
The striker, who since April 2017 has been Now she has been shortlisted for the 13th is what makes Marta not only a fantastic
turning out for Orlando Pride in the NWSL, time, and justifiably so, if her 13 goals (an player, but also a true legend. Her 15 goals
the USA’s top professional women’s apt figure) for Orlando last season are scored at World Cups remains a record
football league, was first nominated for anything to go by, which helped her team – yet another statistic in a glittering career.
the award way back in 2004, when she to qualify for the NWSL play offs and
-
finished third. One year later, she came earned her a place in the team of the year, STILL ON TOP
second, and in 2006, she was finally the NWSL Best XI, to boot. Marta has been a UN goodwill ambassador
named FIFA Women’s World Player of the since 2010 and has dual Brazilian and
Year – at the tender age of 20. The only Marta’s performances for Brazil matched Swedish citizenship. There is just one thing
male player to have won the award at the her club form, skippering As Canarinhas to missing from her trophy cabinet, however:
same age was her fellow countryman victory in the 2018 Copa América Femenina she has never won the Women’s World
Ronaldo in 1996. – with seven wins out of seven. Cup. The closest she came to it was in
China in 2007, when Brazil “only” finished
TROPHIES AND TITLES GALORE THE TEAM COMES FIRST as runners up, losing 2 0 to Germany in
-
-
But Marta was not content to rest on her Marta is second to none when it comes to the final. Winning the Golden Ball for best
laurels – in fact, this was only the beginning reading the game, a talent she puts to player and Golden Boot for top scorer
FIFA 1904 / 23FIFA PARTNER
(with seven goals) must have
been some kind of compensation,
though.
Marta never comes away empty-
handed, you could say – but to
win the top player award at the
age of 32 would be highly im-
pressive. Will it be 13th time
lucky?
Valeriano Di Domenico / FIFA via Getty Images
Fans’ favourite
At last year’s The Best
FIFA Football Awards™,
Marta posed for
countless selfies.
FIFA 1904 / 25THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS™
Knight Grand Commander Liberia President George Weah bestows the country’s highest honour on his former coach Arsène Wenger.
A FORCE OF NATURE
26 / FIFA 1904Only one African has ever been named
FIFA World Player of the Year: the
extraordinary George Weah of Liberia.
By Alan Schweingruber
Whenever George Weah set off on one of broken my bones for him, just to win a
his sprints, there were very few opponents game.” Weah went from strength to
who could live with him. Lightning fast strength and was soon one of the biggest
and blessed with incredible close control, stars in Europe. After leaving Monaco, he
Weah often got his shot away before his won a French league title with Paris
opponent had even sorted his feet out. Saint-German, two Italian league titles
His skill and the power with which he with AC Milan, and the FA Cup with
broke through opposition defences, Chelsea.
almost at will, made him the complete
all-round striker in the mid-1990s, so Weah even gave his World Player of the
much so that he was named FIFA World Year award to Wenger the evening he
Player of the Year in 1995, and later won it, saying that he deserved it for all
Africa’s Player of the Century. he had done for his protégé. Weah and
Wenger remain extremely close to this
All that after a rather stuttering start to day, and Weah, who opened a new
his career in Europe. Weah arrived at AS chapter in his incredible life story last year
Monaco from Tonnerre Yaoundé at the when he was elected President of Liberia,
age of 22 for the far-from-princely sum of recently bestowed the Knight Grand
around EUR 50,000 as nobody in the Commander of the Humane Order of
principality was sure that their new boy African Redemption – the highest award
Ahmed Jallanzo / Keystone/EPA
would go on to make it. At the time, he in Liberia – upon his former mentor.
was a little overweight and rather wooden
in his movements, and he hardly spoke With Egypt and Liverpool star Mohamed
any French to boot. But one thing he did Salah on the three-man shortlist for this
have was a mentor, Arsène Wenger, who year’s The Best FIFA Men’s Player award,
believed in him, someone who recognised could the 23-year wait for an African
his talent and desire. Slowly but surely, World Player of the Year finally be coming
the extra hours that Weah put in at the to an end? Apart from Weah (winner in
training ground began to pay off. 1995, runner-up in 1996) and now Salah,
“I played for Wenger. It was my way of only one other African has ever made it to
repaying him,” said Weah in an interview the final three: Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o
with FIFA.com years later. “I would have in 2005.
FIFA 1904 / 27THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS™
THE BEST
OF THE REST
On the shoulders of giants: over the years, a number of outstanding
candidates for FIFA’s top player of the year award, despite their
exceptional performances, have had to settle for third place.
By Alan Schweingruber
Of course, no professional player can AND THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN Women’s Player. However, certain women
choose in which era he is born and then in did dominate the game in the noughties:
which decade he will play. And biological
SOME THINGS TO SAY, SOME Between 2003 and 2010, the top spot
ageing also does not leave much room for THINGS TO ANALYSE AND SOME went either to the German Birgit Prinz
deciding on when a career ends or begins. QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT THE (who won three titles) or the Brazilian
Unless your name is Gianluigi Buffon and
RECENT PAST AND WHAT THEY record holder Marta (who won five).
at the age of 40 you move from one
world-renowned club (Juventus) to an
HAVE ACHIEVED: WHAT COULD Will the ten-year duopoly in men’s football
THEY HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY?
other (Paris Saint-Germain). also end soon? Next year, Messi turns 32
and Ronaldo 34. But even if the firewall
Ordinary mortals retire sometime after the were to disappear temporarily, no one
age of 30. And there might have been (1980) – it’s almost unbelievable: they are would be quick to write them off.
some things to say, some things to analyse all exceptional talents who have come
and some questions to ask about the third.
recent past and what they have achieved:
what could they have done differently? This is not the first time that two players
What could they have done better? Or, if have dominated the game over a long
the competition had been different, period of time. From 1996 to 2003, out-
would they have become world footballer standing players, such as Thierry Henry and
of the year? Dennis Bergkamp, were in their prime.
They were all competing for the first-place
SO CLOSE, AGAIN AND AGAIN trophy and in the end none of them could
Messi (born in 1987) and Ronaldo (born beat the top two players at the time: six of
in 1985) have been battling it out for the the eight awards went to Ronaldo (1996,
top spot for ten years now. It’s as if 1997 and 2002) and Zinédine Zidane
someone has installed a firewall in FIFA’s (1998, 2000 and 2003).
ranking system for FIFA’s top player: no
other player, barring Iniesta (who came MORE SUSPENSE IN WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
second in 2010), has been able to chal- In women’s football, however, the winners
lenge Messi and Ronaldo for the top two have varied over the past eight years. At
spots. Neymar (born in 1992), Griezmann the last awards, Lieke Martens was the first
AFP
(1991), Neuer (1986), Ribéry (1983), Xavi Dutch woman to be crowned The Best FIFA
28 / FIFA 1904Brothers in arms For Arsenal duo Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry, the FIFA World Player title always remained tantalisingly just out of reach.
THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS™
Getty Images / David Ramos
Andrés Iniesta Even one of the best midfielders of recent years was unable to break the Ronaldo-Messi stranglehold.
30 / FIFA 1904IT’S ALL
ABOUT
THE MAGIC
A thousand useful passes are not enough. To be named The Best
FIFA Player, everything you do on the pitch needs to look magical
too. An attempt to explain voters’ perceptions.
By Alan Schweingruber
In your head at least, you can dispute and over that list and eventually analyse it,
every vote and every award, and feel an our brains will spit out two or three names
injustice. At the end of the day, it was – what you could call a personal shortlist.
human beings who voted – and every At that point, it’s about ordering and
feeling and bout of enthusiasm is sub ranking those names. What images do you
jective. But what drives us to the decisions see? A jubilant Antoine Griezmann in
we make? What influences us to vote as Russia? A goal by Harry Kane or Luca
we do? Are we honest with ourselves, or Modrić? What about Cristiano Ronaldo?
do we merely judge what we’ve seen in Then there was the Champions League
TV highlights from far flung countries? final. It feels like an age ago.
-
The truth probably lies somewhere be
tween the two, yet in football one thing is Footballers have a year in which to make
for sure: fans, coaches, players and jour their mark. That’s plenty of time for heaps
nalists all love moments of brilliance. of moments of brilliance. Or so you might
These are the moments that trigger think. Yet, if you break it all down to the
feelings of happiness, and when all is said time a player has on the ball over 90
and done we all like to remember those. minutes, there’s not that much time after
all. For a striker, you’re looking at a total
100 SECONDS of 80 100 seconds per match. So they
-
And for a long time too. Because what have to produce the extraordinary in a lot
ultimately stays with us out of the floods of mini windows of time. If not today,
-
of images and impressions is critical. At the then in the next game. Or the one after
end of a long year of football, by and large that. But definitely soon, and ideally over
we’ve cobbled together our own list of and over again so that their skills don’t get
favourites in our heads, and if we go over forgotten. It’s like a parking meter that
FIFA 1904 / 31World’s Best
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redefine your expectations with new levels of innovation, comfort
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*Skytrax is acknowledged as a global independent aviation industry monitor. Results of
the 2018 World Airline Awards are derived from more than 20 million passenger surveys
involving passengers from around the world.you just have to keep feeding coins
into. If the money runs out at the
wrong time, you’ve had it.
INIESTA: SO CLOSE BUT YET SO FAR
For midfielders, the time on the ball
is around two-and-a-half minutes
per game. Naturally, that begs the
question of whether it is quite simply
easier to grab the limelight in this
position. However, the demands on
midfielders are different. They have
to think of their team-mates, not just
putting the ball in the back of the
net. They need a lot of precise
passes, including surprising and
crucial ones. And even then their
chances of being “The Best” are
limited. This is clearly illustrated by
the example of Andrés Iniesta.
Winning 131 caps during the peak of
Spanish tiki-taka, Iniesta surpassed
virtually every record, won the
European Championship twice as
well as the FIFA World Cup, and
helped Barcelona bag a cabinet-
bulging haul of trophies. Yet the duel
of the giants, Messi v. Ronaldo, was
always going on at the same time.
Iniesta finished second (2010) and
third (2012) in the voting.
Technique, goals and trophies: if you
can bring all of this together and
also have a couple of recent mo-
ments of brilliance in your repertoire,
you will be in with a chance of being
named the world’s best footballer.
Now, as for whether or not that’s all
very unfair… what we can say is that
the candidates on the voters’ short-
Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
lists of favourites are mostly very
alike. They’re just not in the same
order.
Top of the world Unforgettable:
France’s Antoine Griezmann and Kylian
Mbappé celebrate another goal.
FIFA 1904 / 33SNAPSHOT Beacon of hope Cristiano Ronaldo’s move from Real Madrid to Juventus has been greeted with jubilation and expectations of Champions League success by fans of his new club in and around Turin, where the Portuguese has already achieved iconic status. 34 / FIFA 1904
Alessandro di Marco/Keystone/EPA
FIFA 1904 / 35THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS
TM
A SHORT
DRAMA
36 / FIFA 1904Movie stars have their whole lives
in which to win a trophy.
Footballers, on the other hand,
only have a few years. Yet
winning in Hollywood is no easier.
By Alan Schweingruber
Just how good Hollywood stars are at
waiting probably has a lot to do with the
fact that, though there are an extraor
dinary number of breaks in between
individual takes, actors still can’t get away
because they’re needed again in the next
scene. Most of the time that leaves them
just going through the script one more
time, or taking the opportunity to watch
friends filming on the shoot. Ordering a
pizza delivery is another option. Actress
and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres did
exactly that on Oscars night in 2014, when
she and a colleague became hungry after
many hours spent waiting around. The
glamorous Los Angeles event always goes
on for hours, and even professional loiter
ers can’t manage the whole thing on an
empty stomach. Meryl Streep and Brad Pitt
were certainly happy to dig in.
Perhaps this should be taken as an inspir
ation to order a giant wood fired oven for
-
the Royal Festival Hall in London ahead of
The Best FIFA Football Awards™, to be
used to provide the whole who’s who of
world football with baked Italian food.
After a World Cup from which Italy was
unusually absent, that would be a lovely
symbolic act of reconciliation. Yet you
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
couldn’t even do it for a joke for the 24
September event, as the whole show only
lasts a little over an hour, which is not long
2014 Oscars for anybody to be waiting around. This is
Some Hollywood stars have to wait decades before they win the coveted Best Actor symptomatic of the world of football,
or Actress award. Let’s hope this hastily ordered pizza wasn’t quite so long in arriving.
where everything moves a bit quicker and
there is no time for hanging around.
FIFA 1904 / 37THE BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS
TM
A LAST-HURRAH OSCAR AT 76 A VOTE FOR THE ARTISTS
The fantastically talented Al Pacino, one of Ironically, artists in football have an easier
the stars of the masterful first Godfather time winning the title of best in the world
film back in 1972, had to wait 24 years (see article on page 30). It goes without
before claiming his first (and so far only) saying that that is not always fair, given
Oscar. It came in 1992 for his leading role that preventing a goal or nullifying your
in Scent of a Woman (which was probably opponents are just as valuable to a team.
not even his best performance). Pacino is This phenomenon of preference is at least
still making films, and maybe he will soon understandable: the voters (made up of
be awarded an Honorary Academy Award journalists, fans, coaches and players,
for his life’s work, as happened to the each with a 25% share) give their votes to
Canadian Donald Sutherland last March. those footballers who do interesting
You are an actor for your whole life. things on the pitch and whose match-
Henry Fonda won a Best Actor Oscar at winning displays secure points for their
76 years old… before passing away later team at the same time. A lob, a volley, a
the same year. mazy dribble – these are the keys to
people’s hearts!
YOU ARE AN ACTOR FOR Maybe the stars of the silver screen do
have it somewhat harder in this regard. In
YOUR WHOLE LIFE. HENRY acting, there are no goals or points, just
FONDA WON A BEST ACTOR the harsh descriptors “good” or “bad”. As
OSCAR AT 76 YEARS OLD… an example, Hollywood’s underappreci
ation of the performances of Tom Cruise
BEFORE PASSING AWAY – king of the blockbuster – has not always
LATER THE SAME YEAR. been easy to understand. In the 1990s, he
was brilliant in a couple of roles in Jerry
Maguire and Magnolia. Yet Cruise has
Kylian Mbappé, already a World Cup been waiting in vain for an Oscar since his
winner at 19 years of age, can also be- first role back in 1981.
come a great. As his father recently
revealed in an interview, Mbappé also Waiting and hoping are inextricably
pursues that goal through a kind of film linked. No language does a nicer job of
study – but it’s four or five games of making this clear than Spanish, where the
football in a row that he may sometimes same word – esperar – is used for both.
watch, not old Fonda films. At the end of Hoping for your next goal. Or your next
the day, the young Frenchman does not trophy. Or maybe just a pizza.
have his whole life to pursue a successful
career as a footballer, but just ten to 15
years. And if everything goes to plan,
maybe when he’s 30 or so Mbappé will be
able to look back on a few awards as the
world’s best footballer. On the other
hand, there has only ever been one win-
ner of the Best Actor Oscar under the age
of 30 – Adrien Brody, then 29, for his role
in The Pianist.
38 / FIFA 1904Pure relief
Al Pacino (top right) was 24
years into his film career before
he won an Oscar. For Elizabeth
Taylor (below right) it was 19,
while Faye Dunaway had to
wait a mere nine years.
Terry O’Neill / Iconic Images / Getty Images, Ralph Crane / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty, AFP Images
FIFA 1904 / 39FIRST LOVE
PLACE Svaneti, Georgia
DATE 2 July 2018
TIME 17:15
PHOTOGRAPHER Caio Vilela
40 / FIFA 1904fotogloria
FIFA 1904 / 41Wanda. Creating unique experiences to
inspire future generations of football fans and
players in China and all over the world.
www.wanda-group.comPRESIDENT´S MESSAGE
FOOTBALL HISTORY WRITING ITSELF
The last few months have been overwhelm- open in awe. The young right-back raised That, I thought, is football history writing
ing. Beautifully overwhelming. To the point his finger to excuse himself, took a couple itself. There, I thought, lies FIFA’s responsi-
that only now am I starting to process the of steps forward and waved his hands in the bility: to nurture this process and ensure
multiple meanings and implications of a air to attract the attention of a passer-by, that its result is as prosperous, inclusive and
phenomenon as awe-inspiring as the 2018 to whom he smiled and candidly said: fair as the most fascinating sport on earth
FIFA World Cup was. I can only imagine “You are my idol”. The surprised addressee truly deserves.
how the many football fans will relate to smiled back and responded with a warm,
this feeling. emotional hug: it was 1998 world champion
and FIFA Legend Lilian Thuram.
While in Vannes, France, the other day,
shortly before the final of the FIFA U-20 There was a 22-year-old young man, min-
Women’s World Cup, I found myself bask- utes after having won the biggest prize a
ing in my memories of Russia 2018 and the footballer can ever dream of, finding him-
myriad of images that seem to be constant- self simply starstruck. Starstruck by football
ly simmering in the back of my mind. history.
One of them is from the tunnel around the As I snapped back into reality, in front of
dressing rooms of the Luzhniki Stadium, me stood the pitch of the Stade de la
shortly after France had beaten Croatia to Rabine. There they were, Spanish and
claim the world title. It is the area where TV Japanese teenage girls warming up in their
Michael Regan / FIFA via Getty Images
stations set up their cameras for post-match national team kits, surrounded by magnifi-
interviews. cent tournament support and infrastruc- Yours in football,
ture. There they were, about to play a
Frenchman Benjamin Pavard was happily World Cup final in, of all places, the country
speaking to a reporter, until halfway whose football legend had just been cata-
through an answer he suddenly stood still pulted to heavenly heights a few weeks
for a second – his eyes and mouth wide before. Gianni Infantino, FIFA President
FIFA 1904 / 43FIFA NEWS
NEW AUDIENCE RECORD FOR Fest has been part of the official programme of the FIFA World
FIFA eWORLD CUP™ Cup™ since Germany 2006. It featured again at the 2010 and
According to Electronic Arts Inc. and FIFA, the FIFA eWorld Cup 2014 editions in South Africa and Brazil, and it was definitely
Grand Final 2018 achieved a record global audience with more one of the highlights for fans in Russia.
than 29 million views across online platforms during the three-
day event. Underlining the exciting potential growth for the
tournament and competitive FIFA gaming, the global online
audience for this year’s FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final represented
a 400 per cent increase in digital viewership over the FIFA Inter
active World Cup 2017 final and twice the digital viewership of
the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series Playoffs held in Amsterdam
from 28 May to 3 June. Peak concurrent viewership during the
Grand Final broadcast on 4 August was an estimated 322,000
across 12 digital platforms, with the event delivered to 19 broad-
casters covering over 60 territories around the world. Jean-
François Pathy, FIFA Director of Marketing Services, said: “This
year’s FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final was an important milestone in
the progress and continued professionalisation of competitive
FIFA gaming. Following the move to a new venue and a new
format, the success of this year has underlined the unique oppor-
tunity that competitive FIFA gaming has to engage with new fans
and audiences, as well as how it can support FIFA’s ongoing
efforts to drive interest and develop football around the world.”
ONGOING REVISION OF
THE INTERMEDIARIES SYSTEM
FIFA FAN FESTS™ WITH 7.7 MILLION FIFA recently hosted the third consultation meeting with a group
VISITORS
of football agents concerning the ongoing revision of the inter-
FIFA Fan Fests™ took Russia by storm, welcoming 7.7 million mediaries system. Representatives of the FIFA administration and
visitors in total, a substantial increase on the 5.2 million fans the Task Force Transfer System, established by the FIFA Football
who attended the fests in 2014. Tens of thousands of Russian Stakeholders Committee and composed of representatives from
and international football fans opted for the Fan Fest locations confederations, member associations, the European Club
as their venues of choice for each matchday. They watched a Association, FIFPro and the World League Forum, met with a
total of 917 hours of live football and enjoyed an exciting music selected group of agents including representatives of the
and cultural entertainment programme featuring 646 bands European Football Agents Association (EFAA). At the meeting,
playing 323 hours of live music, all free of charge. “The close a number of possible concrete changes to the intermediaries
collaboration between FIFA, the LOC, the Host Cities and our system were discussed. The third consultation meeting followed
Commercial Affiliates made this project possible,” said FIFA’s on from two previous meetings in April and May, at which a
Chief Commercial Officer, Philippe Le Floc’h. “Work has already general possible framework and the main objectives of the
started to make the FIFA Fan Fest experience even more enter- revision prepared by the Task Force Transfer System were
taining in the future, and we are looking forward to welcoming discussed. The aim of this consultation is to take on board
fans to the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ in Qatar,” he added. The input from the entire football community and ensure a broad
FIFA via Getty Images
highest daily attendance was reached on 25 June, the day consensus around the review process. Discussions on the inter-
Uruguay took on hosts Russia, when some 499,000 fans mediaries system are part of a wider process for the revision of
attended the 11 venues. Moscow was the most popular Fan the transfer system, which is currently ongoing under the lead
Fest overall, with a staggering 1,887,200 visitors. The FIFA Fan of the Football Stakeholders Committee.
44 / FIFA 19042026 FIFA WORLD CUP™: INDEPENDENT REPORT PUBLISHED
Following the designation of Canada, Mexico and the United concerning the fair and equal treatment of all member associations
States as the hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup by the 68 FIFA
th
participating in the bidding process, the evaluation of bids by the
Congress, auditing company BDO has submitted to FIFA a report 2026 Bid Evaluation Task Force, the designation of bids by the FIFA
with their main findings and observations on the bidding process. Council and the decision on the selection of the hosts by the FIFA
BDO was appointed by FIFA following a tender to ensure the Congress. Overall, BDO did not identify any indications that FIFA
protection of the integrity of the bidding process and monitor the did not comply with the rules of the bidding process. The full
correct implementation of the respective rules, in particular those report can be found at https://bit.ly/2AD1Z93.
JAPAN CELEBRATE HISTORIC TRIUMPH
On 26 August, Japan defeated Spain in the final of the FIFA the quarter-finals, while the Little Nadeshiko triumphed at the
U-20 Women’s World Cup France 2018 to claim the title just FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica in 2014, where
15 days after losing 1-0 to the same opponents in the group their opponents in the final were none other than Spain. Japan’s
stage. The tables were turned in the final as Hinata Miyazawa, latest victory means they are the only nation to have won every
Saori Takarada and Fuka Nagano all scored to steer the Young age-level World Cup in the women’s game. In the play-off for
Nadeshiko to victory. The Japanese U-20 girls therefore followed third place, England defeated hosts France in a penalty shoot-
in the footsteps of their senior and U-17 counterparts by lifting out to claim the bronze medal, England’s best-ever showing in
their first U-20 Women’s World Cup title – the only one missing this competition. Georgia Stanway had put the typically spirited
from Japan’s collection. The Nadeshiko lifted the Women’s Young Lionesses ahead before Emelyne Laurent equalised to
World Cup in Canada in 2011, having also beaten Germany in send the game into a penalty shoot-out.
Alex Grimm / FIFA via Getty Images
FIFA 1904 / 45FIFA/COCA-COLA MEN’S WORLD RANKING
Rank Team + / – Points Rank Team + / – Points Rank Team + / – Points Rank Team + / – Points
1 France 6 1726 57 Korea Republic 0 1387 113 Bahrain 0 1180 169 Singapore 0 976
2 Belgium 1 1723 58 Albania 0 1384 114 Mozambique 0 1176 170 St Lucia 0 972
3 Brazil -1 1657 59 Bolivia 0 1378 115 Philippines 0 1172 171 Malaysia 0 971
4 Croatia 16 1643 60 Ecuador 0 1376 116 Kazakhstan 1 1167 172 Gambia 0 964
5 Uruguay 9 1627 61 Honduras 1 1368 117 Namibia -1 1166 173 Puerto Rico 0 960
6 England 6 1615 62 Finland 1 1364 118 Zimbabwe 0 1164 173 St Vincent and the Grenadines 0 960
7 Portugal -3 1599 63 Mali 1 1360 119 New Zealand 1 1157 175 Moldova 0 957
8 Switzerland -2 1597 64 Cape Verde Islands 1 1356 120 Tajikistan -1 1156 176 Chad -1 956
9 Spain 1 1580 65 Egypt -20 1355 121 Guinea-Bissau 0 1148 177 Dominica 0 952
9 Denmark 3 1580 66 Algeria 0 1351 122 Thailand 0 1144 178 Bermuda 0 948
11 Argentina -6 1574 67 Côte d'Ivoire 1 1344 123 Malawi 0 1140 178 Laos 0 948
12 Chile -3 1570 67 Guinea 1 1344 124 Togo 1 1136 180 Liechtenstein 0 944
13 Sweden 11 1565 69 Panama -14 1343 125 Chinese Taipei -2 1135 181 Cuba 0 940
14 Colombia 2 1563 70 Saudi Arabia -3 1336 126 Antigua and Barbuda 0 1132 182 Guyana 0 936
15 Germany -14 1561 70 FYR Macedonia 1 1336 127 Lithuania -1 1130 183 Bhutan 0 932
16 Mexico -1 1560 72 El Salvador 0 1332 128 Sudan 0 1128 184 Malta 0 928
17 Netherlands 0 1540 73 Syria 0 1328 129 Latvia 0 1122 185 Macau 0 924
18 Poland -10 1538 74 South Africa 0 1327 130 Turkmenistan 0 1120 186 São Tomé e Príncipe 0 920
19 Wales -1 1536 75 China PR 0 1320 130 Andorra 0 1120 186 Mongolia 0 920
20 Peru -9 1535 76 Zambia 0 1315 132 Nicaragua 0 1116 188 Aruba 0 916
21 Italy -2 1532 77 United Arab Emirates 0 1312 133 Yemen 0 1112 188 Seychelles 0 916
22 USA 3 1508 78 Belarus 0 1306 134 Swaziland 0 1105 190 Guam 0 912
23 Austria 3 1502 79 Canada 0 1304 135 St Kitts and Nevis 0 1104 190 Timor-Leste 0 912
24 Tunisia -3 1498 79 Lebanon 0 1304 136 Rwanda 0 1100 192 Cook Islands 0 908
24 Senegal 3 1498 81 Curaçao 0 1300 137 Angola 0 1096 192 American Samoa 0 908
26 Slovakia 2 1493 82 Uganda 0 1296 138 Myanmar 0 1092 194 Bangladesh 0 904
27 Northern Ireland 2 1492 83 Congo 0 1292 139 Botswana 0 1089 195 Gibraltar 0 900
28 Romania 2 1490 84 Oman 0 1288 140 Tanzania 0 1084 195 Brunei Darussalam 0 900
29 Republic of Ireland 2 1484 85 Luxembourg 0 1286 141 Kosovo 0 1080 197 Samoa 0 896
30 Paraguay 2 1477 86 Gabon -1 1284 142 Hong Kong 0 1076 197 Djibouti 0 896
31 Venezuela 2 1476 87 Cyprus 0 1280 143 Equatorial Guinea 0 1072 199 US Virgin Islands 0 892
32 Costa Rica -9 1471 88 Benin 0 1276 143 Solomon Islands 0 1072 200 Sri Lanka 0 888
32 IR Iran 5 1471 89 Iraq 0 1274 145 Afghanistan 0 1068 201 Pakistan 0 884
32 Iceland -10 1471 90 Faroe Islands 0 1268 146 Guatemala 0 1064 202 Cayman Islands 0 880
35 Ukraine 0 1468 91 Trinidad and Tobago 0 1264 146 Lesotho 1 1064 203 San Marino 0 876
36 Serbia -2 1459 92 Kyrgyz Republic 0 1260 148 Burundi 0 1056 204 Montserrat 0 872
37 Congo DR 1 1456 93 Israel 0 1256 149 Comoros 0 1052 204 British Virgin Islands 0 872
38 Turkey 0 1455 94 Estonia 0 1250 150 Maldives 0 1048 206 Eritrea 0 868
39 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 1452 95 Uzbekistan 0 1247 151 Ethiopia 0 1044 206 Turks and Caicos Islands 0 868
40 Scotland 2 1444 96 Georgia 0 1242 152 Dominican Republic 0 1040 206 Somalia 0 868
41 Montenegro 2 1440 96 India 1 1242 153 Suriname 0 1036 206 Bahamas 0 868
42 Greece 2 1436 98 Qatar 0 1236 154 New Caledonia 0 1032 206 Anguilla 0 868
43 Australia -7 1431 99 Palestine 0 1230 155 Mauritius 0 1028 206 Tonga 0 868
44 Czech Republic 2 1430 100 Armenia 0 1227 156 South Sudan 0 1024
45 Ghana 2 1424 101 Libya 0 1224 157 Tahiti 0 1020
46 Morocco -5 1418 102 Vietnam 0 1220 158 Liberia 0 1016
47 Cameroon 2 1416 103 Niger 0 1216 159 Kuwait 0 1012
47 Bulgaria 2 1416 104 Haiti 0 1212 160 Barbados 0 1005
49 Russia 21 1410 105 Azerbaijan 0 1207 161 Nepal 0 1004
49 Nigeria -1 1410 106 Mauritania 1 1200 162 Vanuatu 0 1000 Last updated:
51 Hungary 0 1409 107 Madagascar -1 1199 163 Belize 0 999 16 August 2018
52 Burkina Faso 0 1408 108 Korea DPR 0 1196 164 Indonesia 0 992
53 Norway 0 1406 108 Central African Republic 0 1196 165 Fiji 0 985
54 Jamaica 0 1400 110 Jordan 0 1192 166 Papua New Guinea 0 984
55 Japan 6 1392 111 Sierra Leone 0 1188 166 Cambodia 0 984
55 Slovenia 1 1392 112 Kenya 0 1182 168 Grenada 0 980 www.fifa.com/worldranking
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