BobbyD wrote:Well done the Danes, but aberration not proof of the potency of smaller nations
CryptoPlankton wrote:How much of an aberration was it though?
Euros:
Czechoslovakia won 1976 (approx 71st in world by population)
Netherlands won 1988 (68th)
Denmark won 1992 (115th)
Greece won 2004 (87th)
Portugal won 2016 (88th)
Copa America:
Uruguay 15 times winners (134th)
Paraguay won 1953 and 1979 (106th)
Bolivia won 1963 (80th)
Chile won 2015 and 2016 (63rd)
World Cup:
Uruguay won 1930 and 1950 (134th)
Czechoslovakia finalists 1934 and 1962 (71st)
Hungary finalists 1954 (94th)
Sweden finalists 1958 (91st)
Netherlands finalists 1974, 1978 and 2010 (68th)
Croatia finalists 2018 (130th)
Given football is a global game, the fact that only two of the 20 most populous countries (Brazil, 6th, and Germany, 17th) have won a major tournament suggests to me that this population theory may need a little refinement - especially as it is the most popular sport in many of these countries, including NIgeria (7th), Mexico (10th), Egypt (14th) and Turkey (18th).
BobbyD wrote:My statement wasGist: It's population times how embedded football is in your culture which will provide a decent guide to your prospects as a footballing nation.
1. China - No significant long term footballing culture.
2. India - No significant long term footballing culture.
3. USA - No long term footballing culture, and with a very developed and professional sporting system which sees NFL, NBA, and MLB hoover up talent. Football isn't competitive.
4. Indonesia - Not renowned as football crazy
5. Pakistan - It's simply not cricket
6. Brazil - 5 World Cups/9 South American Championships
7. Nigeria - 3 AFCON titles/4 times losing finalists/8 3rd place finishes out of 32 tournaments
8. Bangladesh - It's simply not cricket
9. Russia
10. Mexico - Regular World Cup attendees without much success. Won 11 out of 26 CONCACAF Gold Cops/ Championships, twice Copa America finalists, 4 times semi finalists.
11. Japan - Not renowned as football crazy
12. Ethiopia
13. Phillipines
14. Egypt - Record 7 times AFCON champions.
I could go on... but you have to go down to 33rd to find the least populace World Cup winner...
Apart from Uruguay (134th), but apparently we're only counting tournaments since the dark ages of 1950? I see also that the "weaker" tournaments carry more weight when it suits the argument
Anyway, I was merely pointing out that your so-called "aberration" really wasn't that unusual. But stats can be manipulated to support whatever narrative one wants and it really isn't of any consequence so I think I'll conclude with a slightly dismissive "whatever..."