Read my post again. I said they remind me of Belgium 12 years ago. Everything you say about Norway was also true for Belgium 12 years ago.
Ok, but Norway I think are a bit better than some people give them credit for. Of course, its always difficult to compare in this manner (and yes, I know, I started the comparison ) . Several of Belgium's attack-minded players, including those in midfield in that 2014 team never really became more than average players. Of course, same could wind up being true for Norway's midfield. But their front line is already better than Belgium's was at any point in history.
Does anyone know if Ireland will pass Albania in the new rankings? I would think beating Portugal must bump you up a few places. Seems to me that will likely determine who gets pots 2 & a home match in the UEFA playoffs.
Ireland will be above Albania in the new rankings, problem is that they both will be in Pot 3 if Wales gets the second place in their group ✅ CLINCHED 🏟️ home field advantage (Pot 1 or 2) in 🌍 PO Semifinal:✅ 🇮🇹 Italy✅ 🇹🇷 Türkiye✅ 🇺🇦 Ukraine (*plays in 🇵🇱)✅ 🇵🇱 Poland🇨🇿 Czechia is at 99%!👉 Two PO semifinals will be played on 🇵🇱 Polish soil!🚨 Details about WC playoffs for ALL TEAMS, including:🔸… pic.twitter.com/npqpn0LHtr— Football Meets Data (@fmeetsdata) November 17, 2025
This website: https://football-ranking.com/fifa_rankings keeps a live track of the FIFA rankings and usually updates daily. According to this website, Republic of Ireland have gained nearly 35 ranking points for their two victories, soaring past Albania.
Thanks Ryan & Viking Lord. As I see it Ireland need 4 things to happen tomorrow to be in Pot 2: - Pass Albania in the rankings, which seems to be definite. - Kosovo not beat Switzerland by 6 or more, which seems pretty definite. - North Macedonia draw with or beat Wales. - Bosnia not beat Austria Can anyone confirm?
Potential Group of Death Brazil Germany Norway Ghana Potential Group of Life Mexico Iran Ukraine path Cape Verde
Any European playoff would be a group of life if someone shocking wins it like North Macedonia or something. I would put Uzbekistan or New Zealand as the dream pot 4 team though.
Ha ha, I was just about to post that link. They just updated the website yesterday. In any case, they are prone to make mistakes, so take their info with a grain of salt...
No I wouldn't want Uzbekistan or New Zealand from pot 4. I'd take Qatar or any of the concacaf teams. Assuming you are a US fan and cannot get a concacaf team id go with Qatar.
Courtois, Kompany, Vertonghen, De Bruyne, Dembele, Fellaini, Hazard, Benteke, Lukaku... I don't think Norway are quite there in terms of raw talent and squad depth.
I'd absolutely take New Zealand, they seem good enough to not be trashed but not good enough to actually win games. Their friendlies against qualified teams: Colombia 2-1 New Zealand Norway 1-1 New Zealand Poland 1-0 New Zealand Australia 3-1 New Zealand Australia 1-0 New Zealand Ukraine 2-1 New Zealand Ivory Coast 0-1 New Zealand USA 1-1 New Zealand Mexico 3-0 New Zealand They only have a win against CIV but looking at the lineups, the latter weren't using their main squad
Putting this here as well. Expedited Visa process for ticket holders. https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/capital-region/sports/2025/11/17/fifa-pass-visa-world-cup-2026
I'd love to see this group: Netherlands Austria Australia New Zealand You'd have the Anzac derby, Zeeland v New Zealand, and Austria v Australia just for the heck of it...
Thinking about the intercontinental playoffs... Haven't FIFA painted themselves into a corner with these? You can't have two teams from the same confederation apart from UEFA in any one group. There are going to be two playoff placeholders outside UEFA. One will probably be CONCACAF/CONMEBOL/CAF. This can only go in a group with 2 UEFA + 1 AFC/OFC, or 1 UEFA + 1 AFC + 1 OFC. It's super limiting especially as 5 AFC/OFC countries are already in POT 4. Am I missing something?
No telling what FIFA will do, but as I mentioned previously (either in this thread or another), for the 2023 Women's World Cup, each IC playoff placeholder assumed the geographical constraints of only the seeded team. So there is a bit of a precedent if FIFA decides to go that route. Plus they're already reportedly doing this for the ranking pots.
Oh really? So I guess if there's an 'upset' in one of the playoff paths there could be say, two CONCACAF teams in the same group?
Sure, I guess not. But I feel obliged to point out that not all the Belgian players you listed were in their prime at the same time.
Brazil and Germany are both Pot 1 so that can't happen. You can replace Germany with Croatia or Morocco, that still makes it a tough group.
Kinda hoping teams like Norway, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Morocco or Italy end up with one of the host nations. Balance baby!