As it turns out, just high enough to merit a place if there was a World Cup tournament based on this table of all-time World Cup performances. In yo’ face Peru.
Thankfully, this table is based on performances in the World Cup Finals only and not in all major tournaments, so our disastrous performances at last year’s Euros don’t come into play here.
For a nation of our size we have a pretty decent record in the World Cup, having played 13 games, won three, drawn six and lost four, with a goal difference of 0 having scored and conceded ten goals in our three appearances to date.
A record like that is good enough for 32nd place in an all-time World Cup table drawn up by the BBC, which awards three points for a win and one for a draw for every World Cup since 1930, with goal difference coming into play for any sides on level points.
As you might expect, five time winners Brazil top the pile with 218 points from 96 games played, followed by Germany (including East and West) in second with 206 points from 98 games, four-time winners Italy in third (151 points from 79 games) and two-time winners Argentina in fourth place (129 points from 70 games).
The gap between those four and the rest is quite significant, with Spain, England, France, Netherlands, Uruguay and Sweden making up the top ten.
It’s interesting to check the stats relevant to each country, including the points per game ratio, something that Mexico, for example, won’t be particularly proud of having only picked up an average of a single point per game from 49 games.
With all the hassle over the World Cup draw last week, FIFA can feel free to scrap it and issue invitations to the 32 countries occupying the 32 places at the top of the table if they see wish, which, of course, would mean that Ireland would be going to Brazil, although it might be a bit tricky for the three countries in that group that no longer exist.
Check out the table in full and the interactive graph on the BBC website here.
