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The final 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers have made their mark on the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking ahead of Saturday’s France 2019 draw.
Continental championships in Asia, Oceania, and North, Central America and the Caribbean, plus playoff matches in Europe and the Americas, have applied the finishing touches to the pot allocation for the 24 World Cup-bound nations.
The USA will go into the draw as ranking leaders after strengthening their hold on top spot, while hosts France (3rd, up 1) have swapped places with England (4th, down 1). The Netherlands (7th, up 3) are the top 20’s biggest climbers, having gained ground – and reached a record points total – on the back of impressive play-off victories over both Denmark (17th, down 1) and Switzerland (18th, unchanged).
Further down the ranking, there are double-digit rises for both Jamaica (53rd, up 11) and Panama (54th, up 12), who have reached their highest-ever positions in the wake of storming to the Concacaf Women’s Championship semi-finals. The Jamaicans are now looking forward to their first Women’s World Cup draw, and while Panama missed out after losing to Argentina (36th, up 1) in an intercontinental play-off, they do at least have the honour of being this month’s biggest climbers.
There is consolation, too, for another couple of nations who suffered near misses in World Cup qualifying. Fiji (72nd, up 9) have soared on the back of their run to the OFC Women’s Nations Cup final, while Zambia (114th, up 2) have collected this month’s highest points total (66) after causing upsets against Equatorial Guinea (70th, down 16) and South Africa (48th, up 2) in the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Zambia would have climbed further still but for an influx of ten new teams, taking the total number to 152 – a new record for the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking.
Leader USA (unchanged)
Moves into top ten None
Moves out of top ten None
Matches played in total 141
Most matches played South Africa (8)
Biggest move by points Zambia (up 66)
Biggest move by ranks Panama (54th, up 12)
Biggest drop by points Equatorial Guinea (down 65)
Biggest drop by ranks Equatorial Guinea (70th, down 16)
Newly ranked teams (re-entries unless otherwise stated) Papua New Guinea, Guatemala, Tonga, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Cook Islands, Samoa, Mongolia (first time in the ranking), Bangladesh, Lebanon
Teams no longer ranked due to prolonged inactivity Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Syria, Iraq
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking will be published on March 29, 2019.
