Figures just do not add up for the Socceroos ahead of a tough Pool.
On paper it seems Australia has next to no chance of progressing beyond their Pool at the Football World Cup starting next week.
The Socceroos are the lowest ranked team by FIFA at this year’s showcase, after dropping three places in the latest update, falling to be the 62nd best team in the world.
Making Australia’s task even tougher this World Cup is they have been drawn in the same Pool as the number one ranked side in the world in Spain.
The rest of the contenders, according to the FIFA ranking’s sees Germany at second, Brazil third with Cristiano Ronald and his Portugal side in fourth.
Argentina and Switzerland both climb two places to number five and six in the world respectively while Colombia drops three spots to eight.
Group D rivals Uruguay, Italy and England are also all in the top 10.
Australia’s other group opponents, Chile and The Netherlands, sit at No.14 and No.15 respectively.
The 1-1 draw with South Africa obviously didn’t little to improve their stock and they now sit behind the likes of Cape Verde Islands, Montenegro, Sierra Leone and Guinea. in the standings
And with the Asian Cup just over six months away, they, worryingly, sit fifth in the Asian rankings behind Iran (43), Japan (46), Korea (57) and Uzbekistan (58).
It’s a long way from the record rankings high of 14 back under Pim Verbeek in late 2009, although it’s still well in front of the all-time low of 92 in 2000.
The United States at No. 13 leads CONCACAF nations while Algeria, at No. 22, is top-ranked in Africa.
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