A few years ago I got into the amazing world of youth international football, to both Olympic Games and U-17/U-20 World Cups. Since I'm Chilean I want my country to perform in those competitions, to play against the best of the best in regards U-17, U-20 and U-23 squad from all over the globe. So, from 2015 onwards, I made the decision to watch and analyze every game available of U-17 and U-20 World Cups. With this in mind, I stumbled across several good players that I rate and rated highly, including the last U-17 World Cup won by Brazil this month.
Where am I going with this? Well, I could not understand why SI haven't fixed youth ratings so far, and I took this into my own hands. Having made 3 patches before (FM 16, FM 17 and FM 18), I think I have a good understanding in regards youth players and its own development in real life. So here I am, uploading this youth raking patch for everyone to enjoy and have a more realistic save at your disposal.
So, I guess you're wondering ''How did you rank countries? What are the basics of it? What is the logic?'' Good questions, now I'll explain what was the process behind my decisions.
Firstly, the Top 10 and even Top 50 rated countries were easy to analyze. Countries like Brazil, Germany, Argentina and so on, have high youth rankings by default, and I tried to make it more even and not leave such gaps between them.
Secondly, lots and lots of research. For some countries I really had to go on and see what they had to offer in terms of current players abroad and in the NT. I had to research several African, Asian and North-american countries to have a greater view in terms of present and future. Countries like Haiti, Iran, Mali and others have seen its youth ranking grow.
Thirdly, current development. Similar to the last point, but development is key here, countries like Peru, Chile, Senegal, Denmark have really stepped up their game in the last 10 years or so providing top-notch players.
Fourthly, historical reasons. Here silverware and dominance over its of continent are the main components. Paraguay, Uruguay, Croatia, Czechia, Mexico, Japan, South Korea and Australia are some examples that we can argue that they deserve better youth rankings. Euskadi, or Basque Country, also has a 100 youth ranking due to its past as developing players like Zarria, Zubizarreta, Yeste, Goikoetxea, Llorente, Muniain, Xabi Alonso, Arteta, etc.
Lastly, growth. There are countries that were footballing countries since ever really. England, Brazil and others are solid shouts here, but there are also countries that have fought their way into international recognition. Georgia in the 90s had an amazing crop of players, players that went to play in Germany, Holland and the British Isles as well. Panama also has seen its youth ranking go up, Canada, Qatar, Uzbekistan also has seen an increase.
Disclaimer: I know that my patch won't suit everyone's expectations, but since it is only done by one person trying to figure out the potential grow of each country in the game, I know that there will be mistakes done. However, if you feel like you can do a better job or to improve my patch, feel free to do so. It is good that, as a community, we can discuss this in more detail for the next patch coming up next year hopefully.
Anyway, here is the Top 25 countries, enjoy.
1. Brazil: 154.
2. Germany: 150.
3. Argentina: 148.
4. France: 144.
5. Italy: 144.
6. Holland: 143.
7. Spain: 140.
8 England: 136.
9: Uruguay: 129.
10. Croatia: 127.
11. Portugal: 122.
12. Serbia: 121.
13. Belgium: 118.
14. Colombia: 113.
15. Russia: 111.
16. Chile: 109.
17. Sweden: 109.
18. Denmark: 107.
19. Mexico: 107.
20. Peru: 106.
21. Nigeria: 106.
22. Ivory Coast: 106.
23. Cameroon: 105.
24. Switzerland: 105.
25. Czechia: 105.
Discussion: PA / Youth Rankings Patch for FM20
13 comments have been posted so far.
If you think your opinion is best that thousand of people that work in FM, still isn't a FACT that is realistic.
In my opinion, you have to research better the results of the Portuguese youth teams and of the youth teams of Portuguese clubs, like Porto, Benfica and Sporting.
I found the average ELO ratings very handy to make a better ranking! I used the ranking over the past 20 years:
https://www.international-football.net/average-elo-ratings?init=1&start-year=1999&start-month=11&start-day=21&end-year=2019&end-month=11&end-day=21&type=game
And I then divided there ELO ratings by 13 to have their new youth rating, making Brazil 157 and the last one American Samoa 31. Lots of countries are now more closely together, but also much more countries have a higher youth rating, so not quite sure what the results will be in a long term save, that's why I haven't brought it out yet!
@rivaara - Thanks! I've spoken with the Chilean HR and he asked SI about this issue last year. Their answer was that they weren't really keen on changing youth rankings. Dunno why.
@SirTAVARES - Portugal, by default, actually has a lower youth ranking (114) than mine (122). I'd have to look Portugal's history and see if they can have 124-125, but I wouldn't consider them top 10.
@TheCed - Yeah, there are several things to have in mind while re-doing youth rankings. I'd argue that I did fine so far, there are countries that have the potential to keep on growing, like Qatar, that has the money to spend into great facilities and all. Same thing with China and the US. I'll have to consider these factor for the next year.
@Bigpole - Jordan does not have amazing footballers, I know, but they have a higher default youth ranking than Chile, Romania, Denmark, Sweden and Japan. I used Jordan as an example, we can argue the same in the case of Iraq (115 default), Iran (114 default), DR Congo (101) and so on. I've seen Egypt have incredible regens, that's why I had to nerfed them a little bit (they have great youth facilities, Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad, Wadi Degla and Zamalek).
Thanks for your feedback, guys! I'll have everything into consideration for FM 21