#FOOTBALL#-#WORLD CUP POWER RANKINGS: MARCH 7 Brazil 1 (1) Brazil Julio Cesar finally has a club, Fred is back to fitness and Neymar is scoring goals, as he demonstrated on Wednesday with a hat trick vs. South Africa. The hosts are in increasingly good health ahead of the summer. Spain 2 (2) Spain The Diego Costa experiment began vs. Italy and its fair to say that more testing required were the initial findings. A 1-0 win vs. Italy was a positive, though, and can having arguably the best striker in La Liga as an option be a bad thing? Germany 3 (4) Germany Outplayed by Chile but victorious nonetheless. Sound familiar? Jogi Loews side was less than impressive this week and has questions in wide areas, especially if Phillip Lahm -- one of the worlds best full-backs -- continues to be used in midfield. Argentina 4 (3) Argentina Based on the pictures doing the rounds of Lionel Messis on-field sickness, as well as the 0-0 result, it may be that Argentina didnt really enjoy their trip to Romania. Better news is that Sergio Aguero is fit again. The question is, can he remain so? Italy 5 (5) Italy Despite no Pirlo, De Rossi, Chiellini or Balotelli, the Azzurri gave a decent account of themselves in Madrid in a Euro 2012 final repeat. Still, when it comes to friendlies, theres little to read into Italys form -- theyve won just one of the last 13. Belgium 6 (7) Belgium Marc Wilmots men have become so popular that they are no longer the choice of the football hipster for the World Cup, nor can they be considered dark horses. This week, they gave away a 2-0 lead vs. Ivory Coast, after Christian Bentekes remarkable miss. Colombia 7 (6) Colombia With doubts about Falcaos availability likely to last until the last minute, it is difficult to assess the World Cup credentials of Jose Pekermans side. An ageing backline is a further worry and a 1-1 draw vs. Tunisia was a disappointing warm-up. Chile 8 (9) Chile Lots of energy and plenty of flair but no end product. Its a refrain which has heard before when Chile are discussed but can they solve the problem which, once again, blighted them in Stuttgart on Wednesday by the time they get to Brazil? Netherlands 9 (8) Netherlands We are always told not to read too much into what happens in international friendlies, which is just as well for the Netherlands after their display in Paris. Losing without several key men, including Arjen Robben, does suggest depth could be an issue. France 10 (N/A) France Les Bleus relationship with their fans, so damaged by recent major tournament flops, may be turning around after a comeback playoff win vs. Ukraine and another impressive show vs. Holland. Karim Benzema, finally scoring for his country, is the talisman.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 22:21:28 +0000
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