USA snatches Global Cup lead as Croatia best nation in June
At the end of June, reigning champions the USA claimed the lead – for the first time this year – in the year-to-date Global Cup, the ranking of the world’s best sporting nations.
The USA scored 293 GSN points in June, when former year-to-date leader Norway scored none, earning nearly half of their points in the Basketball 3x3 World Cup (the US won the women’s title and was second to Serbia in the men’s), and adding useful points in Golf, via the LPGA and US Open Championships, and the Taekwondo World Championships.
Croatia (Per Capita Cup runner-up in 2018) surprisingly came top in the June monthly table (please see below) thanks to its football prowess, which earned it second place behind Spain in the UEFA men’s Nation League, and to its first-ever victory in the Taekwondo World Championships, ahead of Turkey and South Korea – it was only the third time since 2013 that the latter hasn’t clinched the Taekwondo title.
Elsewhere in the year-to-date Global Cup top 10, China gained two places thanks to strong performances in Taekwondo and in the Basketball 3x3 World Cup, while Italy and the Netherlands, now respectively in sixth and tenth place in the year-to-date table, both climbed one position as they finished third and fourth in the UEFA men’s Nation League (Football).
GLOBAL CUP - JUNE MONTHLY TABLE
|
Place
|
Country
|
Points
|
Points %
|
|
1
|
Croatia
|
300
|
8.1%
|
|
2
|
Spain
|
298
|
8.0%
|
|
3
|
United States
|
293
|
7.9%
|
|
4
|
Serbia
|
172
|
4.6%
|
|
5
|
Italy
|
168
|
4.5%
|
|
6
|
France
|
164
|
4.4%
|
|
7
|
Turkey
|
147
|
4.0%
|
|
8
|
South Korea
|
147
|
4.0%
|
|
9
|
Great Britain
|
147
|
4.0%
|
|
10
|
China
|
144
|
3.9%
|
|
11
|
Netherlands
|
126
|
3.4%
|
|
12
|
Brazil
|
113
|
3.1%
|
|
13
|
Australia
|
103
|
2.8%
|
|
14
|
Uzbekistan
|
96
|
2.6%
|
|
15
|
Hungary
|
83
|
2.2%
|
|
16
|
Thailand
|
80
|
2.1%
|
|
17
|
Poland
|
76
|
2.0%
|
|
18
|
Germany
|
71
|
1.9%
|
|
19
|
Jordan
|
71
|
1.9%
|
|
20
|
Denmark
|
65
|
1.8%
|
|
21
|
Norway
|
64
|
1.7%
|
|
22
|
Egypt
|
63
|
1.7%
|
|
23
|
Iran
|
63
|
1.7%
|
|
24
|
Latvia
|
54
|
1.5%
|
|
25
|
Austria
|
53
|
1.4%
|
|
26
|
Belgium
|
53
|
1.4%
|
|
27
|
Ivory Coast
|
47
|
1.3%
|
|
28
|
Taiwan
|
47
|
1.3%
|
|
29
|
Portugal
|
45
|
1.2%
|
|
30
|
Mexico
|
41
|
1.1%
|
|
31
|
Czech Republic
|
40
|
1.1%
|
|
32
|
Japan
|
33
|
0.9%
|
|
33
|
Greece
|
28
|
0.7%
|
|
34
|
Canada
|
27
|
0.7%
|
|
35
|
Colombia
|
24
|
0.6%
|
|
36
|
Morocco
|
23
|
0.6%
|
|
37
|
Kazakhstan
|
23
|
0.6%
|
|
38
|
Tunisia
|
20
|
0.5%
|
|
39
|
Azerbaijan
|
15
|
0.4%
|
|
40
|
Ukraine
|
13
|
0.3%
|
|
41
|
Argentina
|
13
|
0.3%
|
|
42
|
Sweden
|
8
|
0.2%
|
|
43
|
Saudi Arabia
|
8
|
0.2%
|
|
44
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
8
|
0.2%
|
|
45
|
Indonesia
|
8
|
0.2%
|
|
46
|
Lebanon
|
8
|
0.2%
|
|
47
|
Vietnam
|
8
|
0.2%
|
|
48
|
Nigeria
|
8
|
0.2%
|
|
49
|
Burkina Faso
|
8
|
0.2%
|
|
Grand Total
|
3,704
|
100.0%
|
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Greatest Sporting Nation is a ranking of countries based on their performance in top-level international tournaments in sports in which there is genuine global competition. Countries (national teams and/or individual athletes) score Qualifying Points by finishing in the top eight places in Qualifying Events.
These Qualifying Points are then weighted to produce GSN Points, based on a formula that takes into account individual vs team sports, the sport’s participation (number of countries) and the frequency (annual/biennial/quadrennial) of the tournaments.
The Country scoring the most Points in a calendar year wins the Global Cup for that year. The country that scores the most points relative to its population wins the Per Capita Cup. For a more detailed explanation, please refer to the ‘How It Works’ section on the site.
