Key Points
- The Matildas slipped out of the world's top 10 for the first time in 2023.
- The Matildas finished fourth at the Women's World Cup.
- Some Australian sports figures have reacted with disbelief to the ranking change.
They may have captured the hearts of a nation but the Matildas have dropped a place in FIFA's latest rankings following the Women's World Cup.
A magnificent late-tournament surge, and unprecedented media interest counted for nothing on the world governing body's updated standings as the Matildas slipped out of the world's top 10 for the first time in 2023.
After starting the World Cup ranked 10th - and despite reaching the semi-final stage of the global showpiece for the first time - Sam Kerr and company now find themselves at 11th.
A group-stage loss to Nigeria contributed heavily to the Matildas ranking demotion while a semi-final defeat to England and a third-place play-off loss to Sweden were also factors.
Australians react to the Matildas drop in ranking
Fans and journalists have reacted with outrage, expressing incredulity over what they see as a nonsensical ranking system.
"In case you needed further proof these rankings are fraudulent ... A [FIFA Women's World Cup] semi-final gets the #Matildas dropped from 10th to 11th (Japan jump into top 10) below the likes of Brazil, Germany and Canada who made group stage exits," wrote AAP sports journalist Anna Harrington.
Journalist Mark Gottlieb struck a similar note, tweeting that “@TheMatildas have DROPPED to Number 11 in the latest @FIFAcom women’s world rankings despite finishing 4th at the #fifawwc.”
When a commenter pointed out that the decrease was likely a result of the Matildas losing their last two games, he responded "That’s an insane way to do rankings.”
The World Cup winner isn't the top-ranked FIFA team
For their part, Spain may have lifted the trophy after last weekend's 1-0 final win over England, but they are not - officially at least - the best team in the world.
That honour goes to the Matildas' third-place play-off conquerors Sweden, who replace the United States at the top of the rankings list - the first time in more than six years the US have not occupied pole position.
Germany are the only other team ever to have been formally ranked world No.1 by FIFA in the women's game.
The US, who had held the No.1 spot since June 2017 and won back-to-back World Cups in 2015 and 2019, slipped out of the top two for the first time since the rankings were introduced in 2003.
Spain climbed from sixth to second, pushing the US to third, while runners-up England and quarter-finalists France remain fourth and fifth respectively.
Japan (eighth) has returned to the top 10 following a run to the quarter-finals while tournament co-hosts New Zealand remain 26th after their group-stage exit.
World Cup debutants Morocco were the biggest movers, jumping 14 places to 58th.
How does the FIFA ranking system work?
A country's ranking is calculated using a variety of criteria, including results, venue, the importance of the match and the difference in world ranking between the competing teams.
Based on these criteria, teams are given "predicted" outcomes for how they will perform each match. When they exceed that prediction - in other words, when they do better than expected - they are rewarded with a number of points that contribute to their overall ranking.
When a team falls short of the expectations, they lose points.
The amount of rating points given to a winning team is dependent on the strength of the opponent, meaning that a win over an extremely weak team will have little impact, while a win over a team that is thought to be far superior will contribute more significantly.
The underachieving team loses the same amount of rating points as their opponents have won, and vice versa.
In the Matildas' case, a group-stage loss to Nigeria contributed heavily to their ranking demotion, while a semi-final defeat to England and a third-place play-off loss to Sweden were also factors.
FIFA claims on its website that women's teams "are ranked according to a value that is a measure of their actual strength."
