When Ricki Herbert took over as Maldives football coach in 2015, it's doubtful he ever thought the tiny country in the Indian Ocean would be ranked ahead of New Zealand.
But it's happened. As hard as it is to believe, the Maldives are ranked 160 in the latest Fifa rankings and the All Whites are a miserable 161.
The Fifa rankings are flawed (and the All Whites should normally occupy a spot between about 80 and 100) but New Zealand's position is an inescapable truth and their lowest since the rankings were introduced in 1992. They were 49th in 2002 and 63rd in 2010 but have been on a downward spiral since.
They have slipped 12 places in the latest rankings, which is a reflection of the fact they have played barely any meaningful football games in this World Cup cycle. That should improve after next month's Oceania Nations Cup in Papua New Guinea, when the winner qualifies for next year's Confederations Cup. The Nations Cup is also the first round of World Cup qualification for the Oceania confederation.
The All Whites played only three games last year - a 1-0 defeat to Korea, a 1-1 draw with Myanmar and a 1-0 victory over Oman - and was part of the reason why coach Anthony Hudson labelled New Zealand's football culture as "soft" and hit out at the lack of international competition.
