View source for FIFA Women's World Ranking

{{Short description|Global sports team ranking list}}
{{about|the women's rankings|the men's rankings|FIFA Men's World Ranking}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Sports rankings table|FIFA Women's World Rankings|1|20<!--RANKINGS ARE UPDATED AT: Module:SportsRankings/data/FIFA Women's World Rankings-->
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|header1='''Top 20 rankings as of INSERT_UPDATE_DATE'''INSERT_REFERENCE
|footer1=<small>*Change from INSERT_LAST_DATE</small>
|footer2=<small>*Next change in 2025</small>
|footer3=<small>[https://inside.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/women Complete rankings at FIFA.com]</small>
}}
The '''FIFA Women's World Ranking''' is a ranking system for women's national teams in [[association football]] (commonly known as football or soccer) published by the international governing body [[FIFA]]. {{As of|August 2024}}, the [[United States women's national soccer team|United States]] is ranked #1.

The rankings were introduced in 2003,<ref name="factsheet" /> with the first rankings published on 16 July of that year.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/news/fifa-launches-women-world-ranking-20042 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608230347/https://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/news/fifa-launches-women-world-ranking-20042 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 June 2019 |title=FIFA launches Women's World Ranking |website=FIFA.com |publisher=[[FIFA|Fédération Internationale de Football Association]] |date=16 July 2003 |access-date=6 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=17 July 2003 |title=U.S. tops first women's world soccer rankings |page=D5 |work=[[The Honolulu Advertiser]] |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33605181/us_tops_first_womens_world_soccer/ |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=6 July 2019}} {{free access}}</ref> FIFA attempts to assess the strength of [[List of women's national association football teams|internationally active women's national teams]] at any given time based on their past game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest. {{As of |August 2024}}, the ranking has 194 national teams.

The ranking has more than informative value, as it is often used to seed member associations into different pots in international tournaments.

==Specifics of the ranking system==
*FIFA Women's World Rankings are based on every international match a team ever played, dating back to 1971, the first FIFA-recognized women's international between [[France women's national football team|France]] and the [[Netherlands women's national football team|Netherlands]].
*FIFA Women's World Rankings are implicitly weighted to emphasize recent results.
*FIFA Women's World Rankings are only published four times a year. Normally, rankings are released in March, June, September and December. (In [[FIFA Women's World Cup|World Cup]] years, dates may be adjusted to reflect the World Cup results.)

The first two points result from the FIFA Women's World Rankings system being based on the [[Elo rating system]] adjusted for football; in 2018, FIFA modified the men's ranking system to similarly be based on Elo systems after continued criticism. FIFA considers the ratings for teams with fewer than 5 matches provisional and at the end of the list. In addition, any team that plays no matches for 4 years becomes unranked; this inactivity limit was previously 18 months, but was extended in early 2021 (after the COVID-19 pandemic stifled a significant amount of international play).

==Ranking schedule==
Rankings are generally published four times a year. The next update is scheduled for 6 March 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://inside.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/women|title=Latest Women's World Ranking|website=Fifa.com|date=21 January 2025|access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref>

== Leaders==
{{FIFA Women's World Ranking leaders}}
As of the 16 August 2024 rankings release, [[United States women's national soccer team|the United States]] is the number one ranked team. The United States holds the record for the longest consecutive period leading the rankings of nearly 7 years, from March 2008 to December 2014.

Before the [[2023 FIFA Women's World Cup|2023 World Cup]], the [[United States women's national soccer team|United States]] and [[Germany women's national football team|Germany]] had been the only two teams to lead the women's rankings, and these two teams also had held the top two spots in all but six releases, when Germany was ranked third (only [[Norway women's national football team|Norway]], [[Brazil women's national football team|Brazil]], [[England women's national football team|England]] and Sweden had reached second during this time).

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! No.
! Team
! Confederation
! Days at No. 1
|-
|style="text-align:center"| 1 ||{{fbw|USA}}|| CONCACAF ||{{age in days|16 Aug 2024|{{extract|currentdate|add=5715d}}}} days {{efn|group=note|name=calc_until|Current leader as of {{Date}}.}}
|-
|style="text-align:center"| 2 ||{{fbw|GER}}|| UEFA || 1,701 days
|- 
|style="text-align:center"| 3 ||{{fbw|ESP}}|| UEFA || 246 days
|- 
|style="text-align:center"| 4 ||{{fbw|SWE}}|| UEFA || 112 days
|- 
|}
{{notelist|group=note}}

==Ranking calculations==
The rankings are based on the following formulae:<ref name=factsheet>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/r&a-wwr/52/00/99/fs-590_06e_wwr-new.pdf |title=Fact Sheet, FIFA Women's World Ranking |work=FIFA |access-date=8 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411123156/https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/r&a-wwr/52/00/99/fs-590_06e_wwr-new.pdf |archive-date=11 April 2012}}</ref>

:'''<math>R_{aft} = R_{bef} + K (S_{act} - S_{exp})</math>'''

:'''<math>S_{exp} =  \frac{1}{1 + 10^{-x/2}}</math>'''
<!-- This is not exactly stated in the reference, but that equation does not give sensible results, while this one matches the general Elo format -->
:'''<math>x = \frac{R_{bef} - O_{bef} \pm H}{c}</math>'''

Where
{| style="width:50%;"
|-
|width=4%|
|-
|'''<math>R_{aft}</math>'''||= The team rating after the match<br>
|-
|'''<math>R_{bef}</math>'''||= The team rating before the match<br>
|-
|'''<math>K</math>'''||= '''<math>15 M</math>''', the weighted importance of the match<br>
|-
|'''<math>S_{act}</math>'''||= The actual result of the match, ''see below''<br>
|-
|'''<math>S_{exp}</math>'''||= The expected result of the match<br>
|-
|'''<math>x</math>'''||= The scaled difference in rating points between the teams<br>
|-
|'''<math>O_{bef}</math>'''||= The opposing team's rating before the match<br>
|-
|'''<math>H</math>'''||= The "home advantage" correction, ''see below''<br>
|-
|'''<math>c</math>'''||= A scaling factor, ''see below''<br>
|-
|'''<math>M</math>'''||= The "Match Importance Factor", ''see below''<br>
|}

The average points of all teams are about 1300 points. The top nations usually exceed 2000 points. In order to be ranked, a team must have played at least more than 5 matches against officially ranked teams, and have not been inactive for the last 48 months up to the date the rankings are published. Even if teams are not officially ranked, their points rating is kept constant until they play their next match.

=== Actual result of the match ===
The main component of the actual result is whether the team wins, loses, or draws, but goal difference is also taken into account.

If the match results in a winner and loser, the loser is awarded a percentage given by the accompanying table, with the result always less than or equal to 20% (for goal differences greater than zero). The result is based on the goal difference and the number of goals they scored. The remaining percentage points are awarded to the winner.  For example, a 2–1 match has the result awarded 84%–16% respectively, a 4–3 match has the result awarded 82%–18%, and an 8–3 match has the result awarded 96.2%–3.8%.  As such, it is possible for a team to lose points even if they win a match, assuming they did not "win by enough".

If the match ends in a draw the teams are awarded the same result, but the number depends on the goals scored so the results will not necessarily add up to 100%.  For example, a 0–0 draws earns both teams 47% each, a 1–1 draw earns 50% each, and a 4–4 draw earns 52.5% each.<ref name=factsheet>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/r&a-wwr/52/00/99/fs-590_06e_wwr-new.pdf |title=Fact Sheet, FIFA Women's World Ranking |work=FIFA |access-date=8 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411123156/https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/r&a-wwr/52/00/99/fs-590_06e_wwr-new.pdf |archive-date=11 April 2012}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"
|  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|
| colspan="7"|'''Goal Difference'''
|-  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"
| ||0||1||2||3||4||5||6 /+
|-  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"
| '''Goals scored<br>by non winning team''' || colspan=7| '''Actual result (percentage)'''
|-
|  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|0||47.0 / 47.0||85.0 / 15.0||92.0 / 8.0||96.0 / 4.0||97.0 / 3.0||98.0 / 2.0||99.0 / 1.0
|-
|  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|1||50.0 / 50.0||84.0 / 16.0||91.1 / 8.9||95.2 / 4.8||96.3 / 3.7||97.4 / 2.6||98.5 / 1.5
|-
|  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|2||51.0 / 51.0||83.0 / 17.0||90.2 / 9.8||94.4 / 5.6||95.6 / 4.4||96.8 / 3.2||98.0 / 2.0
|-
|  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|3||52.0 / 52.0||82.0 / 18.0||89.3 / 10.7||93.6 / 6.4||94.9 / 5.1||96.2 / 3.8||97.5 / 2.5
|-
|  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|4||52.5 / 52.5||81.0 / 19.0||88.4 / 11.6||92.8 / 7.2||94.2 / 5.8||95.6 / 4.4||97.0 / 3.0
|-
|  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|5||53.0 / 53.0||80.0 / 20.0||87.5 / 12.5||92.0 / 8.0||93.5 / 6.5||95.0 / 5.0||96.5 / 3.5
|}
''Source''<ref name=factsheet/>

=== Neutral ground or home vs. away ===
Historically, home teams earn 66% of the points available to them, with away teams earning the other 34%.  To account for this, when two teams are not playing on neutral ground, the home team has its <math>R_{bef}</math> inflated by 100 points for the purposes of calculation.  That is, if two equally ranked teams playing at one team's home ground, the home team would be expected to win at the same rate a team playing on neutral ground with a 100-point advantage.  This 100 point difference corresponds to a 64%–36% advantage in terms of expected result. The scaling factor remains the same (''c''=200).<ref name=factsheet/>

=== Importance of the match ===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Match importance
!Match importance<br>factor (M)
!K-value
|-
|[[FIFA Women's World Cup]] match
| style="text-align:center;"|4
| style="text-align:center;"|60
|-
|[[Football at the Summer Olympics|Women's Olympic football tournament]]
| style="text-align:center;"|4
| style="text-align:center;"|60
|-
|[[FIFA Women's World Cup qualification|FIFA Women's World Cup qualifier]]
| style="text-align:center;"|3
| style="text-align:center;"|45
|-
|Women's Olympic football qualifier
| style="text-align:center;"|3
| style="text-align:center;"|45
|-
|Women's Continental finals match
| style="text-align:center;"|3
| style="text-align:center;"|45
|-
|Women's Continental qualifier
| style="text-align:center;"|2
| style="text-align:center;"|30
|-
|Women's friendly match between two Top 10 teams
| style="text-align:center;"|2
| style="text-align:center;"|30
|-
|Women's friendly match
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|15
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Women's association football|Sports}}
*[[World Football Elo Ratings]]
*[[FIFA International Match Calendar]]
*[[Statistical association football predictions]]
*[[Geography of women's association football]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/women}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111009000133/http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/procedureandschedule/womenprocedure/index.html Women's World Ranking Procedure at FIFA.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120411123156/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/r&a-wwr/52/00/99/fs-590%5f06e%5fwwr-new.pdf Women’s World Ranking Fact Sheet]

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[[Category:Women's association football]]
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