Hi and thanks for dropping by to read this post!
In exactly 15 days, the 21st edition of the Fifa World Cup will start in Russia.
In my last two posts I classified the countries taking part in the world cup 2018 according to their FIFA ranking and their population.
This post is about the market value of these teams: so "how much money is a national team worth on the transfer market?"
The value of the team is the cumulated value of each player in the current squad.
Let me ask you my typical questions before you take a look at the numbers. Try to guess the answers before reading further. Please try... You're going to be surprised. I promised!
- Which team has the highest market value?
- What's the market value of the most expensive team?
- Would you bet on that team to win World Cup?
- Which team is the cheapest?
- What's the value of that team?
- Would you bet that they will not even go through the group phase?
Here is the ranking of the teams taking part in Fifa's World Cup according to their market value.
| Ranking | Team | Market Value (in Mio. €) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 1020 |
| 1 | Germany | 1020 |
| 1 | Spain | 1020 |
| 2 | Brazil | 952 |
| 3 | England | 874 |
| 4 | Belgium | 801 |
| 5 | Argentina | 698 |
| 6 | Portugal | 486.35 |
| 7 | Uruguay | 384 |
| 8 | Croatia | 358 |
| 9 | Colombia | 308.5 |
| 10 | Senegal | 287.2 |
| 11 | Poland | 277.7 |
| 12 | Serbia | 265.85 |
| 13 | Denmark | 264.65 |
| 14 | Switzerland | 227.1 |
| 15 | Egypt | 202.48 |
| 16 | Mexico | 161.4 |
| 17 | Russia | 149.53 |
| 18 | Nigeria | 143.1 |
| 19 | Morocco | 121.45 |
| 20 | Sweden | 116.45 |
| 21 | Korea Republic | 88.35 |
| 22 | Iceland | 74 |
| 23 | Japan | 72.2 |
| 24 | Tunisia | 54.73 |
| 25 | Australia | 52.1 |
| 26 | Costa Rica | 44.4 |
| 27 | Iran | 42.95 |
| 28 | Peru | 34.85 |
| 29 | Saudi Arabia | 22.5 |
| 30 | Panama | 11.68 |
Note: These are the values as of today May the 30th, 2018 (source).
As of today France, Germany and Spain have the same market value!
Wow! Isn't that amazing! Each one is valued at more than 1Billion Euros!
Surprisingly (at least to me) all three teams are worth more than Brazil.
The cheapest team is Panama with a "ridiculous" value of 11.68 Mio €.
Followed by Saudi Arabia, Peru and Iran. It would be a huge surprise if Panama, or Saudi Arabia play big role during this World Cup! So I wouldn't bet on them. But watch out for Peru! According to Fifa's ranking it is the 11th best team in the World. So I wouldn't look at their price tag when betting on a game involving Peru!
Interestingly, Iceland which is the country with the smallest population isn't the cheapest. So this ranking is a way better hint for the quality of that team.
Now let's compare Argentina (ranked 5th) and Portugal (ranked 6th): there is a gap of more than 200 Mio. € ! Does that mean there is no chance for the Euro 2016 Champion to become World Champion?
This ranking makes me feel more confident about my picks for the SBC world Cup Contest.
It is being organized by 
The prize pool is currently 110 SBD. The contest is really easy to play and it is open to (almost) everyone.
I have the 4 best valued teams on my list. I don't feel so good about not picking Argentina, England and Belgium because I think those three teams will/should perform well.
How are you making your picks?