FIFA rankings may not be the perfect measurement of success but without a more coherent way to compare and contrast the world's footballing superpowers, it's a decent overview of where everyone stands.
Since the late 1990s, the sport's top countries have experienced significant fluctuations in FIFA's estimations due to the rigors of tournament play. It's worth looking at the major patterns to see what's changed over the past two decades and, in some cases, what's more or less the same.
How far ahead are the top-tier nations? And are teams like the U.S. and Mexico that far behind?