Welcome to the first edition of the International Power Rankings, an absolutely perfect and not subjective at all ranking of the world's best National soccer teams. The purpose of these rankings is to see how well your everyday soccer fan can evaluate teams compared to big name ranking systems like FIFA or Elo. I'll be comparing the results from each international window to see how well each does along with keeping a running tally throughout the year. We all know that FIFA and Elo use an algorithm to determine team placement but since I am not a living computer, what will I use? In order for my system to not be borderline a carbon copy, I have to come up with my own system:
1. I'll only be looking at results from the last 2 calendar years. The reason for this time frame is threefold: It's long enough to grab a large enough sample size from virtually any team, there's an increased likelihood of having more competitive, non-friendly matches included in the sample, and we can see if a team is on an up-ward/down-ward trend based on somewhat recent results. Anything longer than that really isn't useful in determining who is a better team in present day. The more recent the game, the more it impacts the ranking.
2. I won't be using a mathematical formula to determine how impactful results are. Again, I want this to be different. All I'll be doing is......using my judgement. I'll actually have some advantages over the algorithms this way: Computers can't differentiate whether or not teams are using a full-strength lineup or if there are any other unseen factors (field conditions, weather, etc.) that would have impacted the games. We'll see if that's enough for me to be competitive.
3. In terms of the types of matches, friendlies will be borderline useless. If it's all I have I'll use them, but otherwise their impact will be negligible. Friendlies like camp cupcake which bear no resemblance to a full-strength national team will not be used. In terms of "competitive" games, they will have a much larger impact, but there are exceptions. For example, if in WCQ for UEFA the last game of the group stage between Belgium and Scotland is a dead rubber with rested starters on both sides and Scotland wins, that won't matter as much as if a full-strength Scotland and beat a full- strength Belgium. I'll still count those results as slightly more important than a friendly though.
4. Teams ranked higher would be favored over teams ranked lower than them on a neutral field in a competitive setting.

With that in mind, let us begin:
1. France- A fully healthy French side is the best team in the world. Their B team isn't bad either considering it almost beat Argentina last WC.
2. Argentina- Reigning WC champions, and favorites to win this summer's Copa America.
3. England- on talent alone, they *should* be #1, but they continue to come up just short.
4. Brazil- This current team is in poor form, but even an under-acheiving Brazil is still a fantastic team.
5. Portugal- This might be the best team Portugal has ever fielded. Now we need to see them take the next step.
6. Spain- They have talent, but their play is....lacking excitement.
7. Netherlands- The Dutch are in a tough spot. They are good enough to be competitive, but not enough to be true contenders.
8. Germany- Deutschland has been underachieving for some time now, but it's possible they've turned in around with Nagelsmann. This summer's EURO's will be the true test.
9. Uruguay- They are on fire with competitive wins over Brazil and Argentina (AWAY!). Would not be shocked if they win the Copa.
10. Italy- Normally a global powerhouse, they are still trying to find their way after back-to-back WCQ failures.
11. Belgium- Their Golden Generation is aging, and it's showing on the field. They haven't this vulnerable in some time.
12. Colombia- A 21 game unbeaten streak will shoot you up the rankings pretty well. Can they hold their form and make a run in the Copa?
13. Croatia- For a country of about 4 million that didn't exist until 1994, they've reached back-to-back WC semis with one appearance in the final. That's pretty good.
14. Japan- They were world beaters up until Jan of this year. Honestly looked to be a true top-10 team in the world. Then the Asian cup happened and were soundly beaten by both Iraq and Iran. As impressive as their friendly results were, at the end of the day they were still only friendlies.
15. Morocco- Their run in the WC is currently holding them relatively high, but their kryptonite seems to be South Africa who has beat them in their last two competitive meetings.
16. USA- While they lack a global star, they have a very deep and balanced roster and are currently a step above everyone else in CONCACAF.
17. Hungary- For a very underwhelming roster, they are giant killers. They've beaten England twice, Germany, and Serbia twice. Are they a dark horse for the EUROs?
18. Switzerland- In my opinion, the European equivalent of the US. Solid if unspectacular.
19. Senegal- Currently a strong side, but a bulk of their spine in Mane, Koulibaly, and Mendy are starting to age.
20. Ecuador- Last two competitive losses? Argentina and Senegal. That's not bad. Also the last team to beat Uruguay in WCQ.
21. Denmark- In their last game prior to the WC, they beat France in the Nations League. Great! Since then, they got grouped at the WC and have bad losses to Kazakhstan and Northern Ireland. Not great!
22. Iran- Likely the second best team in Asia, they were so close to winning the Asian cup but came up just short against hosts Qatar.
23. Mexico- By Mexico standards? They suck. By global standards? They aren't horrible.
24. Scotland- They got promoted to the big kids table with an impressive showing during EURO qualifying. Now they just have to stay there.
25. Austria- They make the list by the skin of their teeth. If they don't impress this summer they will have a short lived stay.

Going forward I will indicate which teams moved and if they went up or down. I will also indicate if we have a new team to the list and who dropped off. Starting next window, I'll be taking this list and seeing how well it does against FIFA and Elo. Wish me luck!