Bangladesh national football team defeated the Maldives twice and clinched a rare away draw in the last four months but their South Asian neighbors are still ranked 22 places above them in the latest FIFA rankings published Thursday.
The recent dominance of Bangladesh over the Maldives has clearly been evident in terms of strength, squad depth, performance and results which raises questions if the ranking system is a good marker.
The men in red and green enjoyed more possession, had nine shots on target against the Maldives’ two, 20 overall shots against seven when they won 3-1 during the group round of the SAFF Championship 2023 held at a neutral venue in India on June 25.
They also crushed Bhutan by the same margin with domination in every department of the pitch three days later but the Himalayan country too stand above Bangladesh in the latest rankings.
Javier Cabrera’s side proved that those performances were not fluke while facing the Maldives two more times in the crucial World Cup pre-qualifiers playoffs this month.
They snatched a creditable draw (1-1) amid unfavorable condition in the Maldives capital before winning comfortably (2-1) at home despite the absence of three regular key players - goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico, defender Topu Barman and forward Sheikh Morsalin.
Also this year, Bangladesh played out a couple of draws against Afghanistan who are 29 places above them in the current rankings.
The matches against Afghanistan were FIFA friendlies but all three encounters against the Maldives were more decisive in terms of regional status and making a mark in world football.
FIFA has a complicated ranking and points awarding system.
It is based on results, awards points for win and deducts accordingly for defeat, and also dependent on opponents - whether they are ranked higher or not.
It also depends on match value, like World Cup finals are not the same as friendly.
The fact is that Bangladesh are going to compete in the group round of the World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers in the next one year while the Maldives will not.
The Bengal Tigers are scheduled to face much higher ranked sides in Australia, Palestine and Lebanon in the round-robin group phase and expected to be beaten on paper which would see them go down further in the rankings like they did during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
The Maldives, on the other hand, do not have any listed fixtures during this period and their ranking point is projected to remain same more or less.
But Bangladesh’s ranking point is highly anticipated to be dropped and the difference with the Maldives is most likely to increase.
FIFA has upgraded its ranking method from time to time but it seems that the current system does not reflect the recent state of all the associate members.
Bangladesh had a poor record against the Maldives for around a decade from two years back which is why perhaps they are still paying for it in the rankings but they still have better overall head-to-head stats.
They lost only once against Bhutan and won around on a dozen occasions including the recent thrashing but still sit behind their neighbors.
If the ranking system does not change by this time and history repeats itself, Bangladesh is highly likely to be pushed further behind in the next one year.
