I would like to add more into this quoted post To be sucessful in capitalism is to understand these 3 words: importance + quantity + logistics (of your goods/services) A doctor (aka life saver) does not make as much money as a successful owner of restaurant/hotel/amusement park because a doctor can provide services to dozens of people per day while these bussinesses provide services to hundreds of people per day. A construction company does not make as much money as a consumer good manufacturer because a building is too big to be replicated & transported all over the world while consumer goods arrive at harbors on daily basis.
Can Africa become rich by just selling their natural resources? No. Because an economy of farmers & miners (agriculture & raw materials) < economy of machine builders & software developers (heavy & tech industry). Africa will stay as a playground for Western powers & even China.
More details added Value chain of industries (from basic to complex) Agriculture (food/fiber/plantation crops, livestocks, fishery, etc...) Raw Materials Mining (logging, iron mining, etc...) Energy (powerline, fuel station, coal mining, oil/gas pipeline, etc...) Transport (harbor, airport, highway, post office, etc...) Public Service & Legal (police station, law court, tax office, etc...) Finance (bank, insurance company, stock exchange, etc...) Real Estate (sale/lease of land, house, apartment, etc...) Low-Value-Adding Service (janitor, babysitter, waiter, gardener, hairdresser, security guard, assembly-line worker, low-skilled construction worker, etc...) Handmade Goods Producing & Tradespeople's Service (artisan such as baker, blacksmith, carpenter, ceramist, tailor or skilled tradespeople such as plumber, steamfitter, electrician, mechanic, etc...) Skilled Computer Users' & Professionals' Service (translator, private investigator, architect, accountant & other white-collar workers, etc...) Local Business' Service + Low-level Education (kindergarten, local elementary school, etc...) + Retail for Locals (clothing shop, toy store, etc..) + Manually Operated Machine's Service (laundry shop, etc...); One/Few Softwares Containing Machine's Service (print shop, etc...) or in other words "One/Few Functionalities Machine's Service" + Non Transportable Giant Sized Goods Producing (local construction company, etc...) + Leisure & Event (restaurant, hotel, stadium, amusement park, zoo, casino, tourist attraction and management of events such as wedding/birthday party/conference/funeral, etc...) Global Business' Service + High-level Education (universities, colleges, language centres, etc...) + Mass Media (broadcast of world news / global sports events, advertisement, film, music, video games, books, etc...) Consumer & Industrial Goods Manufacturing (factory that churns out products meant to be sold in supermarkets & building materials or chemicals & components for machinery like screws, hex nuts, etc...) Healthcare (pharma manufacturer, hospital, etc...) Tech (chips manufacturer, manufacturing of electronics that can connect with the internet, internet/telecommunications service provider, software developer, etc...) Heavy Equipment & Machinery Manufacturing (corporation that creates machineries for defense contractor, airline company, auto dealer or machineries that are used in manufacturing goods, etc...) Mobile Phone is one of the mosts profitable products itw cause the device fulfills these 3 criterias Importance (high due to having many softwares/functionalities), Quantity (great number), Logistics (in pocket)
To me, these are the 4 greatest (or the 4 most impactful) technological innovations of all-time Machine (many tasks are not done by hands anymore) > Computer (a special machine that can use multiple softwares and thus possesses multiple functionalities) > Internet (the quick transfer of softwares & datas between computers) > Smartphone (a more compact computer)
Number of UCL KO Stage Participations from 2003-04 season to 2023-24 season England 21 Spain 21 Germany 21 Italy 21 France 21 ============ Portugal 18 ============ Netherlands 7 ------------------------ (the rest of Europe) Russia 5 Ukraine 5 Turkey 4 Greece 4 Scotland 4 Switzerland 3 Belgium 2 Denmark 2 Czechia 1 Austria 1 Cyprus 1 The one football association that benefits the most from Russia-Ukraine war: Netherlands. In my rankings of leagues, Portugal is 6th, Russia & Ukraine are 7th & 8th while Netherlands are 9th. Since the 7th & the 8th ranked associations are beating up each other, Netherlands will simply fill up the gap that are left behind by the 2 associations. Nevertheless its surprising to see that Netherlands are being projected to overtake Portugal's 6th place in the 2024-25 season. The last time that the Netherlands were ranked 6th was in 2002–03 UEFA Champions League season. If small nations' clubs want to be competitive at UCL, they just have to look at what Portugal & Netherlands are doing right: world best academies & great scouting networks
Euro vs Champions League vs World Cup Out of 55 federations, 24 national teams in UEFA (meaning 44% of UEFA) would get qualified for Euro Group Stage. only 16 national teams in UEFA (meaning 30% of UEFA) would make it to Euro KO Stage. only 15-17 federations (meaning 30% of UEFA) would make it to UCL Group Stage. only 7-9 federations (meaning 16% of UEFA) would get into UCL KO Stage. only the top 13-16 national teams from UEFA (meaning 28% of UEFA) would make it to WC Group Stage. only the top 6-10 national teams from UEFA (meaning 18% of UEFA) would get into WC KO Stage. For a mid-tier football association, World Cup Group Stage used to be the hardest group stage to get into. UCL KO Stage is the hardest KO stage to get qualified for. My final notes: In terms of romanticism, Euro is the best. Its a major tournament where mid-tier teams can make a deep run. In terms of prestige, UCL is the best. Its such an elite competition that even Dutch clubs would find it hard to get out of the group stage. In terms of popularity, World Cup is the best. Its a sporting event that catches the eyeballs of people who do not even watch football.
New updates to my rankings of leagues 1) England 2) Spain 3) Germany 4) Italy 5) France ==================== ↑ UCL contenders 6) Portugal ==================== ↑ UCL KO competitors 7) Russia 8) Ukraine 9) Netherlands 10) Belgium ==================== ↑ UCL regulars 11) Turkey 12) Greece 13) Switzerland 14) Austria 15) Scotland 16) Czechia ==================== ↑ UCL non-regular participants 17) Denmark 18) Croatia 19) Sweden 20) Serbia 21) Poland ==================== ↑ Top Representatives For A Region 22) Norway 23) Romania 24) Bulgaria 25) Slovakia 26) Slovenia 27) Hungary ==================== ↑ Occasional Participants In Tourneys of International Football & Club Football (Eastern Mediterranean) 28) Israel 29) Cyprus ------------------------- (Former USSR) 30) Belarus 31) Kazakhstan 32) Azerbaijan 33) Moldova ==================== ↑ Occasional Participants In Only Club Football Tourneys (British Isles) 34) Wales 35) Republic of Ireland ------------------------------------------ (Western Balkan) 36) Albania 37) North Macedonia ------------------------------------------ (Ice Hockey nations) 38) Finland 39) Latvia ------------------------------------------ (Western Balkan) 40) Bosnia & Herzegovina ------------------------------------------ (North Atlantic Island) 41) Iceland ==================== ↑ Occasional Participants in Tourneys of International Football & Low-tier Club Football (British Isles) 42) Northern Ireland ==================== ↑ Occasional Participants In Only International Football Tourneys (Caucasus) 43) Georgia -------------------------------------------- (mini-state in Benelux) 44) Luxembourg -------------------------------------------- (Caucasus) 45) Armenia -------------------------------------------- (Western Balkan) 46) Kosovo -------------------------------------------- (North Atlantic Island) 47) Faroe Islands -------------------------------------------- (Basketball nations) 48) Lithuania 49) Estonia -------------------------------------------- (micro-state in Switzerland) 50) Liechtenstein -------------------------------------------- (British airstrip & shipyard) 51) Gibraltar ==================== ↑ Occasional Participants In Only Low-tier Club Football Tourneys
Since Bosnia & Herzegovina + Iceland got qualified for a low-tier club football tourney (europa conference league) in 2023-24 season, these 2 football associations deserve to be promoted to the group of "Occasional Participants in Tourneys of International Football & Low-tier Club Football". Additionally Bosnia beat Iceland in their most recent club football match so Bosnia is justifiably placed above Iceland. Kosovo gets placed higher than Faroe Islands, Lithuania, Estonia, Liechtenstein & Gibraltar due to Kosovo having been qualified twice for europa conference league while the other associations having been qualified only once for the tourney. Nevertheless Kosovo is still placed below Armenia due to Kosovo's lack of h2h datas in club football & international football. In order to rank all the associations that got qualified for Europa Conference League once (Faroe Islands, Lithuania, Estonia, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar), i have to view their nation league standings & h2h records against each other as the 2 most important tiebreakers between them. If these tiebreakers do not show which association is better than the other then the associations are judged based on their reputation & how much they have improved since 2015-16 in UEFA coefficient rankings. And if all the aformentioned tiebreakers still do not work, we then take into account the associations' positions in the 2 unreliable rankings (fifa rankings & elo ratings) and how many years the associations were in the top 45 of the UEFA coefficient rankings. Now lets see By looking at the h2h records & nation league performances, i would say Faroe Islands > Lithuania > Estonia > Liechtenstein or Gibraltar.
Since h2h records & nations league results are not enough to determine which one of the two Liechtenstein & Gibraltar should be ranked higher than the other, we have to look at how journalists & fans wrote about them and how much they have improved in uefa coefficient rankings since 2015-16. Reputation Faroe Islands: good reputation infos (Move your mouse to reveal the content) infos (open) infos (close) https://europebetweeneastandwest.wo...quering-eastern-europe-one-victory-at-a-time/ A Miracle That Keeps Happening – Faroe Islands Football: Conquering Eastern Europe One Victory At A Time November 17, 2016 The news came as a shock. In a World Cup qualifying match this past September, Hungary, with a population of 9.9.million could only manage a draw with the tinny tiny Faroe Islands, population 49,500. A month later they went to Riga where they produced a decisive 2-0 victory over Latvia. Giant Killers – The Faroese Conquer Greece The greatest upsets pulled off by the Faroese since the miracle at Landskrona were two games against Greece, that mercurial Balkan powerhouse and consistent middle of the pack contender in European football. The first meeting was by far the most shocking. Greece was playing at home and as such was heavily favored. Earlier in the year they had made it to the knockout round of the World Cup. None of this impressed the Faroese who were on another giant killing mission. The lone goal of the game was scored in the 61st minute on a busted play befitting a miracle upset. A Faroese cross from the right side deflected off a player who had fallen to the ground. The ball skipped over to Brandur Olsen. He proceeded to pass it over to Jóan Simun Edmundsson who then booted a clean shot into the net. For the next 33 minutes the Farose clung to the lead. The Greeks came within inches of a tie when one of their shots struck the goal post, but the Faroese managed to hold on. When time expired they erupted in celebration Revenge was certainly on the minds of the Greek team as they traveled to the capital city of Torshavn in June 2015. This was the first match in the Faroese side’s newly remodeled Tórsvøllur stadium with its special section, the Skansin (fort), built for their most rabid fans. Once again the Faroese team rose to the occasion, taking an insurmountable two goal lead over the Greeks in the 70th minute then holding on for a 2-1 victory. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/58863401 However, the Faroes have been slowly, steadily improving over the past 15 years and will provide a stubborn test on their own patch as Scotland look to move one step closer to a World Cup qualifying play-off spot. https://thesefootballtimes.co/2019/...d-obsession-of-football-in-the-faroe-islands/ This tiny, remote nation also represents one of the most remarkable footballing success stories in recent years, as the sport has become a potent medium for the expression of Faroese identity. With a population of just over 51,000, there are over 5,000 registered footballers in the Faroes, which equates to 10 percent of the entire population, along with 20 full-sized pitches. Faroe Islands Football Association (FSF) has big plans, aiming to make the Faroes the world's leading football nation in terms of participation proportion, a challenge which demands a 20% increase in the number of players, coaches and administrators currently involved. The rise in overall participation levels between 2019 and 2021 was 13%. Professionalism As of 26 September 2022, the Faroese national team has thirteen full-time professionals playing in Belgian, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Icelandic leagues, compared to the 1990 team who won the Austria game in Landskrona, which was entirely made up of amateurs. Estonia: mixed reputation infos (Move your mouse to reveal the content) infos (open) infos (close) The Estonian Football Association and the ministry of culture have jointly launched a long-term project aimed at building indoor halls in all 15 counties of the country. Football in modern Estonia is often called a family business. FC Flora is in the posession of the son of the FAs head. Football Associations President Aivar Pohlak was the president of this club and is involved in many others. Football is unhealthy in Estonia as even know there are teams in the top flight that act as reserve sides for FC Flora. On top of this the FA’s President is involved in agencies and earns money from player sales. FA has also been accused of paying of FC Flora debts which were in the millions. FC Flora still receives money from the FA for dubious reasons. While it is confirmed that Flora own the facilities FA built in 2000’s. Nothing like this has been done for other teams. The position of the head of football has been made utterly undesirable and even impossible to contest by fictious and inactive organizations within the FA holding voting rights and removal of salary for the President of the FA. It is corrupt and rotten to the core. Furthermore he has been accused of creating rules to protect Floras position in Estonian football. This is done by forcing clubs to play a certain amount of homegrown players from the club, even when the youth products are not of deserving. Also the rules on foreign players have been criticised for holding the clubs back. He has been followed by scandals for years, yet his position is untouchable. From domestic violence, corruption, public feuds with young players, owners of rival clubs , to blowing his lid at a municipal council meeting and getting into physical altercation. He has stayed as the head figure of the Football Association. Lithuania: bad reputation infos (Move your mouse to reveal the content) infos (open) infos (close) The Sorry State of Football in Lithuania Lithuanian football desperately needs more investment. The problem is the state of Lithuanian league football. Because the funding is so very poor, they rely heavily either on Lithuanian born players or rejects from foreign football leagues who couldn’t make the grade in their own countries. It is not the sort of atmosphere that attracts our nurtures homegrown talent. As a result, no Lithuanian football club has ever made it through the qualifying stages of the UEFA Cup or the Champions League. Add to that the situation whereby the A Lyga is often the source of scandals and betting fraud, and it is clear to see why the game struggles. Panevėžio Ekranas was the top team in the early 2010s but was declared bankrupt in 2015. FKK Kaunus was another top side that came to grief. the national team was beaten 1-0 by Switzerland in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. The start of the game was delayed by 5 minutes due to wrong sized goalposts. Liechtenstein: mixed reputation infos (Move your mouse to reveal the content) infos (open) infos (close) FC Vaduz is Liechtenstein's only professional team and played 1 season in swiss top flight 2020–21 Liechtenstein is unique within European football as it is the only country without its own national league due to there being fewer than 8 teams within the principality. Due to lack of active football teams, Liechtenstein is the only UEFA member nation not to have their own league and hence does not have any spots in the UEFA Champions League. "The biggest problem for our national team is that we can only keep up with the pace for around 60 minutes as most of our players play in the third tier," Frick said after Liechtenstein relinquished an added-time goal to lose 2-1 against Scotland in September 2010, UEFA HatTrick funds have helped in the establishment of a national training centre in Ruggell, which involved upgrading existing facilities and constructing a new two-storey block that includes player and referee dressing rooms, physiotherapy and meeting rooms. Equipped with four pitches, including one with artificial turf, multiple dressing rooms, a warm-up area and a beach soccer court, the centre is home to the national men's and women's sides. Plans are now under way to set up the LFV Campus in Schaan, with five full-sized pitches (three natural turf, two artificial) plus mini-pitches and facilities for 9-a-side and 7-a-side football. Comprising the administration and the specific sports infrastructure, the campus will be the new home and beating heart of Liechtensteiner football. Since the victory against Azerbaijan in a Euro 2000 qualifying match, the presence of a handful of professional players (most notably Mario Frick) has seen Liechtenstein's competitiveness improve slightly. Gibraltar: bad reputation infos (Move your mouse to reveal the content) infos (open) infos (close) There is only one pitch in Gibraltar, used for everything. Every sport, every age group. Games are played in two evening slots most nights a week and at weekends. It's hard to fit all the games in. Louie Annesley A 20-year-old defender, Annesley was born in London and currently playing for Blackburn Rovers reserves. Although not being born on the Rock, he played a year and a half at Lincoln Red Imps and has already made nine appearances for Gibraltar. He is not far off of professional level and could be Gibraltar’s best player. Dayle Coleing The 23-year-old goalkeeper was born in Gibraltar and recently made a move from Europa to Glentoran in Northern Ireland. He played for numerous clubs and for the national team before moving to Belfast. Tjay De Barr The attacking midfielder was also born in Gibraltar, and is now playing B team football for Real Oviedo. De Barr has an international goal to his name and had an explosive 2018/19 season with Europa. Although Gibraltarian football is not yet professional, these candidates and a handful of others could be playing professional football in some top leagues, and that’s all thanks to the quality of football many young players are able to experience at the Victoria stadium Due to the lack of suitable facilities in Gibraltar, the national team played its competitive home matches at Estádio Algarve about four hours away in Portugal, from 2013 until 2018. In 2017 a deal was agreed for the Gibraltar FA to purchase Victoria Stadium with UEFA funding, and re-develop the stadium to meet UEFA standards. The stadium was subsequently approved to host UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying games in March 2020. However, delays to the stadium redevelopment due to the COVID-19 pandemic meant that in October 2022 it was announced that Gibraltar would once again have to play competitive games in Portugal from March 2023 while their home stadium is rebuilt. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...9/Shock-Gibraltar-slice-Britain-football.html @Lynxfcgib have issued a press release on the latest incident during their game versus @LincolnRedImps , who fielded an ineligible player, but no action was taken by the @GibraltarFA . Lynx has complained about the disparity in the application of the rules from one team to another. This disparity/bias is something other clubs have exposed in the past, and it seems to coincidentally always fall in favour of the same club, and which may expose a bias by the GFA towards specific clubs. Lynx are taking the matter to @UEFA@FIFAcom @Lynxfcgib have issued a press release on the latest incident during their game versus @LincolnRedImps, who fielded an ineligible player, but no action was taken by the @GibraltarFA. Lynx has complained about the disparity in the application of the rules from one team to another. pic.twitter.com/pAdQGL5uRi— Gibraltar Sports News (@Gibsportsnews) November 30, 2023 The corrupt @GibraltarFA should learn from other Associations like the @EnglishFA that when a team fields an ineligible player, that team should lose the game and/or points, and not just brush it under the carpet. @Lynxfcgib should take note The corrupt @GibraltarFA should learn from other Associations like the @FA that when a team fields an ineligible player, that team should lose the game and/or points, and not just brush it under the carpet. @Lynxfcgib should take note https://t.co/vYunYBeq4p— Gibraltar Sports News (@Gibsportsnews) November 22, 2023 In terms of reputation, Lie is better than Gib (Lie play in their home stadium vs Gib play their home games in Portugal). As for the peformances in UEFA coefficient rankings of the 2 football associations, both associations have stagnated but Lie is ranked way higher than Gib. So in conclusion: Lie > Gib Other less important data to back up Lie > Gib
Shortened version of my rankings of leagues 1) England 2) Spain 3) Germany 4) Italy 5) France ==================== ↑ UCL contenders 6) Portugal ==================== ↑ UCL KO competitors 7) Russia 8) Ukraine 9) Netherlands 10) Belgium ==================== ↑ UCL regulars 11) Turkey 12) Greece 13) Switzerland 14) Austria 15) Scotland 16) Czechia ==================== ↑ UCL non-regular participants 17) Denmark 18) Croatia 19) Sweden 20) Serbia 21) Poland ==================== ↑ Top Representatives For A Region 22) Norway 23) Romania 24) Bulgaria 25) Slovakia 26) Slovenia 27) Hungary ==================== ↑ Occasional Participants In Tourneys of International Football & Club Football 28) Israel 29) Cyprus 30) Belarus 31) Kazakhstan 32) Azerbaijan 33) Moldova ==================== ↑ Occasional Participants In Only Club Football Tourneys 34) Wales 35) Republic of Ireland 36) Albania 37) North Macedonia 38) Finland 39) Latvia 40) Bosnia & Herzegovina 41) Iceland ==================== ↑ Occasional Participants in Tourneys of International Football & Low-tier Club Football 42) Northern Ireland ==================== ↑ Occasional Participants In Only International Football Tourneys 43) Georgia 44) Luxembourg 45) Armenia 46) Kosovo 47) Faroe Islands 48) Lithuania 49) Estonia 50) Liechtenstein 51) Gibraltar ==================== ↑ Occasional Participants In Only Low-tier Club Football Tourneys
lol. The sad & brutal reality of modern football. I have to do some research to see if what he said is true Global Rankings of Football League Revenue It does not look good to see Scottish league now generate less revenue than small European leagues. Thats what complacency does to you.
How To Be Competitive In UCL When Your Club Is Not A Financial Powerhouse 1) League Revenue Higher Than Most 2nd Divisions Of Big 5 (>= 400 million euro) (Belgian national team reached number 1 in FIFA rankings, Portugal won Euro, Argentina won World Cup. 400m euros league revenue seem to be the cut off between mid-tier and top-tier) 2) World Best Academies (when you can not buy talents, producing them is an absolute must) 3) Great Coaches (when players are not the difference makers, coaches / managers are. Coaching is probably where the Portugese & the Dutch are better than many other Europeans (not counting those from big 5) 4) Reliable Scouts (helping a club stay at the top depite the club being a revolving door of players - a stepping stone for young prospects and not-yet proven foreign talents & a refuge for old veterans and under-appreciated bench players) In order to be a UCL regular, 400 million euros league. In order to have some chance of making it to UCL GS, 200 million euros league. The exceptions to the rule of money are Ukraine, Greece & Czechia. Pound for pound (or Euro for Euro), top Portugese football clubs are the best. Regular appearances in UCL KO stage. The biggest letdowns are Russia & Turkey. Two most populous nations in UEFA, high revenue domestic league but can not make it to UCL KO stage as many times as Portugal & Netherlands.
My rankings of European leagues 1) England 2) Spain 3) Germany 4) Italy 5) France ==================== ↑ UCL contenders 6) Portugal ==================== ↑ UCL KO competitors 7) Russia 8) Ukraine 9) Netherlands 10) Belgium ==================== ↑ UCL regulars 11) Turkey 12) Greece 13) Switzerland 14) Austria 15) Scotland 16) Czechia ==================== ↑ UCL non-regular participants Rankings of Europe's Top Divisions' Revenue Ukraine, Greece & Czechia are in my top 16 despite them generating lower revenue than 13 other leagues. This shows that money does not determine everything in football but 3 out of 16 means that only 19% of low revenue leagues can compete against 81% of higher revenue leagues. To put it simply, money does not always translate into success but still accounts for 80% of a success.
Outside of Europe, the 5 biggest leagues are Brazil & Argentina in South America (names like Santos, Fluminense, São Paulo & Corinthians, Boca Juniors & River Plate are known by hardcore football fans) US & Mexico in North America Japan in Asia. Then there are China & Saudi Arabia who are aspiring to be football powerhouses both at club & national team level. In India, football is likely to grow into a major sport, second only to cricket. This is what makes football great. The increasing level of competition.
Ranking Of Confederations (based on their World Cup performances since 1998) GS: group stage participation KO: knock-out round 5) Africa Africa is the weakest confederation. There is no true top team in the continent. However the numbers show that Western Africa is the region with the best African footballers. Not northern, not eastern, not southern & not central. Its western africa that is not completely useless in WC.
4) Asia Asia is the second weakest confederation. However there is 1 true top team and a couple of mid-tier teams that are from the 1st world nations. Other Asian teams that are not part of the 1st world have terrible records in WC.
3) North America North America is the most imbalanced, top-heavy confederation. Only 2 nations put up respectable performances in World Cup.
2) South America South America is the second strongest confederation. Not counting Brazil & Argentina, the top 4 teams from South America (like Uruguay, Colombia) would beat the top teams from Africa, Asia, North America and even Eastern Europe but would lose to Europe's big 5 & the best performing teams in Western Europe.
1) Europe Europe is no doubt the strongest confederation. Both at club & international level. Club football (at the elite level) is practically run by Western Europe. However international football is a competition between the whole of Europe vs South America.
1998-1999 were the years that marked the beginning of commercialized football. 1998 was the World Cup with 32 teams instead of 24 teams and 1999 was the UCL where the top 4 teams from each of the biggest leagues were allowed to participate. 2016-17 were the years that newcomers like Tottenham Hotspurs, Napoli & RB Leipzig established themselves as legitimate contenders for UCL spot. Rankings of top-tier national teams in WC (based on their numbers of World Cup KO Stage qualifications and World Cup Group Stage participations since 1998) 1) Brazil (KO 7/7 , GS 7/7) 2) Argentina (KO 6/7 , GS 7/7) 3) England (KO 6/7 , GS 7/7) 4) Mexico (KO 6/7 , GS 7/7) 5) France (KO 5/7 , GS 7/7) 6) Germany (KO 5/7 , GS 7/7) 7) Spain (KO 5/7 , GS 7/7) 8) Netherlands (KO 5/7 , GS 5/7) 9) Japan (KO 4/7 , GS 7/7) 10) Portugal (KO 4/7 , GS 6/7) 11) United States (KO 4/7 , GS 6/7) 12) Switzerland (KO 4/7 , GS 5/7) WC once again shows that the 5 biggest leagues outside of Europe are Brazil & Argentina, US & Mexico, Japan.
Rankings of the best mid-tier national teams in WC 13) South Korea (KO 3/7 , GS 7/7) 14) Croatia (KO 3/7 , GS 6/7) 15) Italy (KO 3/7 , GS 5/7) 16) Belgium (KO 3/7 , GS 5/7) 17) Uruguay (KO 3/7 , GS 5/7) 18) Denmark (KO 3/7 , GS 5/7) Outside of Europe, there are only 2 mid-tier teams (South Korea & Uruguay) that are capable of pulling an upset win against a top team. However if you hold South America football in high regard and do not care much about numbers, Colombia could be added into this group of the mid-tier teams that can beat a top team.