Key facts
- Politico published an analysis ranking all 48 World Cup teams based on multiple criteria.
- Sweden was ranked as the overall winner based on happiness, wealth, and political stability.
- The analysis considered FIFA rankings, GDP per capita, political stability, corruption perception, life expectancy, and happiness.
- Qatar is the richest country by GDP per capita, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the poorest.
- Uruguay is the most politically stable country, and Switzerland has the highest life expectancy.
Politico has published an alternative ranking of the 48 teams participating in the World Cup, evaluating them not just on football prowess but also on factors such as happiness, wealth, and political stability.
Sweden emerged as the overall winner of this unique ranking system. The analysis incorporated data from FIFA's April rankings, where France was number one, down to New Zealand at 85th. Additional metrics included GDP per capita from 2024 data, with Qatar being the richest and the Democratic Republic of the Congo the poorest. Political stability, according to the World Bank, placed Uruguay as the most stable and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the least. Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index identified Haiti as having the highest perceived corruption, while Norway and New Zealand scored the lowest. Life expectancy figures, based on World Bank data for men, showed Switzerland leading, again with the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the bottom. The World Happiness Report 2025 identified Swedes as the happiest, with Haitians ranking least happy.
The analysis also highlighted specific match-ups based on these criteria, such as the "Moneybags Derby" between Qatar and Switzerland for the richest group-stage game, and the "Corruption Clash" between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uzbekistan. The "Cleanest Cup" match was identified as Sweden versus the Netherlands, which also represented the only group-stage game between two EU members. Caveats were noted, including the combination of data for the U.K. and the Netherlands for certain categories affecting England, Scotland, and Curaçao.