FIFA Rankings Are a Joke When U.S. Is Put at No. 12

By GRAHAME L. JONES

Feb. 22, 1998 12 AM PT

They must have a sense of humor, those gnomes in Zurich who compile the monthly FIFA rankings. Why else would they put together such a laughable list every four weeks or so?

Take the latest edition of the rankings, which was released Wednesday. Among the 190 soccer-playing nations on earth, Mexico was listed No. 4 and the United States No. 12.

If there is a single soul on this planet who believes there are only three teams better than Mexico and only 11 better than the U.S., then hopefully he or she is securely under lock and key somewhere in a heavily padded room.

Even Steve Sampson, the U.S. coach, is not fooled by such FIFA foolishness.

“Well, you know, I gotta tell you, it sort of puts a smile on my face,” he said. “But I must be honest with you, I’ve never put too much credence in these rankings.

“I believe it’s a nice gesture, showing that we’ve gained some respect worldwide, but I don’t look at the rankings, nor do my players. We just have to continue to play well.”

One place they won’t be playing well--or at all--in the near future is Los Angeles.

The U.S. team was supposed to play Mexico here April 8, but after the deplorable behavior of some fans at the Coliseum during last Sunday’s Gold Cup final, the game is being switched elsewhere on the West Coast.

Meanwhile, the current FIFA top 10 looks like this: Brazil, Germany, Czech Republic, Mexico (yeah, sure), England, France, Chile (not a chance), Yugoslavia, Japan (another FIFA joke, no doubt) and Norway (please, no more).

And, oh, yes, the Netherlands, which coasted past No. 12 U.S. on Saturday, is ranked No. 25.

DOWN MEXICO WAY

Belgium’s coach, Georges Leekens, was in Los Angeles last week to watch the Gold Cup final between the U.S. and Mexico. By the time he had returned to Brussels, he had somehow convinced himself that the Mexican team is actually good.

“We’ll have to play a perfect match to beat this Mexico [in the World Cup on June 20 in Bordeaux],” Leekens told the Het Nieuwsblad newspaper. “[They are] fast, technically refined, physically strong, and most of them ambidextrous.”

Wonder what Leekens will say about the United States, which plays Belgium in Brussels on Wednesday?

ANIMAL ANTICS

What was Brazil’s Edmundo thinking during his two weeks in the U.S. for the Gold Cup?

About walking out on his club team, Fiorentina, that’s what.

The striker nicknamed “The Animal” for his frequently bizarre on-field behavior, abandoned the Italian club in midweek and flew back to Brazil.

“I’m doing this because I don’t want to miss out on the World Cup,” Edmundo told Reuters on arrival in Rio de Janeiro. “If I stayed sitting on the bench over there, things would get really difficult for me.”

In Florence, he said it another way:

“This year there are the World Cup finals and I don’t want to put them at risk. . . . Italy is fine, Florence is a wonderful city and Italian soccer is exactly what I expected but . . . I was promised that I would play.”

Edmundo said he would rejoin Fiorentina immediately if he was guaranteed a starting role. The club, which bought him from Vasco da Gama in Rio last May for $7.4 million as an apparent partner in attack with Argentina’s Gabriel Batistuta, has offered no comment as yet.

SCOT-GERMAN ALLIANCE

Despite comments bemoaning how poorly Brazil played in the Gold Cup, at least two national team coaches were not fooled by the so-so performance of the defending world champions, who were tied by Jamaica and Guatemala and lost to the United States.

“These matches are only preparatory games and they have been coasting, and they have not been at full strength,” Scotland’s Craig Brown said.

“They have the best players in the world and any lack of harmony will disappear once they get to the [World Cup] finals.”

Added Germany’s Berti Vogts, whose team began its France ’98 preparation by shutting out Oman, 2-0, on Wednesday: “They’re an absolutely exceptional team. What the Brazilians were doing in the Gold Cup was having a holiday.”

Germany, which plays the United States in Paris on June 15, will play the real Brazil in Stuttgart on March 25.

REGGAE BOYZ

Jamaica’s return from a fourth-place finish in the Gold Cup was marred by a traffic accident a few days later in which sweeper Durrent Brown was knocked unconscious and had to be hospitalized for observation. Goalkeeper Warren Barrett, midfielder Theodore Whitmore and defender Steve Malcolm were treated and released.

The car the players were traveling in was struck by a vehicle that ran a stop sign.

Meanwhile, another member of the team, striker Andrew Williams of Rhode Island University, is close to signing with MLS. He is expected to be assigned to either the Columbus Crew or Washington D.C. United.

Jamaica plays Nigeria today in another warmup for both World Cup-bound teams.

Nigeria’s squad, under Bora Milutinovic, includes two Major League Soccer players--defender Uche Okafor of the Kansas City Wizards and midfielder Ben Iroha of D.C. United.

IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS

Even subtracting those loutish fans who should have been tossed out of the Coliseum--why do they keep serving beer there?--the Gold Cup attendance was impressive.

In 1996, total attendance for the North and Central American and Caribbean region’s championship was 290,569. This time around, in a much better organized tournament, it topped 382,000, or an average of more than 34,700 per playing date (some were doubleheaders).

Chuck Blazer, CONCACAF’s general secretary and a FIFA executive committee member, said the tournament will continue to be held every two years to keep the region’s national teams active and thereby raise their standard of play.

UPCOMING FOR U.S.

While the U.S. team is flying to Belgium for Wednesday’s game, one of its World Cup opponents, Yugoslavia, will be playing against Argentina in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.

Yugoslavia has taken virtually none of its name players, however, and is using the trip as a chance to evaluate some younger players.

Another upcoming U.S. opponent--Paraguay, which the Americans play March 14 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego--began its France ’98 warmup with a resounding 4-0 victory over Poland at Asuncion, Paraguay.

HIDDEN AGENDA

In an effort to escape from the media spotlight, Scotland’s Brown said he would bring his World Cup team--wait for it--to the U.S.

The inference, of course, is that no one over here gives two notes on a bagpipe.

Scotland will play warmup matches against fellow World Cup qualifier Colombia in New York on May 24 and the U.S. in Washington on May 30 before heading to France on June 2.

The May 30 U.S.-Scotland game will be accompanied by a U.S.-New Zealand women’s game, the first time the U.S. men and women have staged a doubleheader.

WOMEN IN SAN DIEGO

If it seems there is an inordinate amount of soccer talent in Southern California this week, there is.

Coach Tony DiCicco’s U.S. women’s national team is training at the Olympic Training Center in San Diego from Monday through March 1.

That’s in preparation for the fifth Algarve Cup in Portugal on March 15-21. The U.S. team leaves March 10 for Portugal, where its first-round opponents will be Finland, China and Norway.

After that, the defending Olympic gold medalists return to California to prepare for a two-game series against Argentina on April 24 at Cal State Fullerton and April 26 at San Jose.

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Where the 32 World Cup Teams Are in FIFA’s World Rankings

Rank Team: Pts.

1. Brazil: 72.58

2. Germany: 65.01

4. Mexico: 61.67

5. England: 60.89

6. France: 59.45

7. Chile: 59.14

8. Yugoslavia: 58.97

9. Japan: 58.90

10. Norway: 58.87