Jamaica's Demarai Grav (left) battles for the ball with Canada's Alistair Johnston during second half CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal action in Toronto, on Tuesday, November 21, 2023. Canada has dropped three places to No. 48 in the latest FIFA world rankings in the wake of its CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal loss to Jamaica. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Canada has dropped three places to No. 48 in the latest FIFA world rankings in the wake of its CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal loss to Jamaica.
The Reggae Boyz remained at No. 55 after winning the two-legged series on the away goals rule after a 3-2 comeback win Nov. 21 in Toronto knotted the series at 4-4.
It’s the lowest ranking for the Canadian men, who are sandwiched between Greece and Venezuela, since they were 53rd in December 2022.
World Cup champion Argentina remained No. 1, ahead of France. But Brazil dropped two places to No. 5 after back-to-back defeats by No. 15 Colombia and Argentina.
England and Belgium each moved up one rung to No. 3 and 4, respectively. The Netherlands climbed one place to No. 6, dropping Portugal to Nov. 7. Spain, Italy and Croatia completed the top 10.
Just outside the top 10, Uruguay vaulted four spots to No. 11, with the CONCACAF-leading U.S. falling one rung to No. 12. Mexico slipped two places to No. 14, behind Morocco.
Canada remains fourth in CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean, behind the U.S., Mexico and No. 41 Panama, which was the only team among the top five in the region not to lose ground. Costa Rica dropped six places to No. 52.
The Comoro Islands were the biggest mover, jumping nine spots to No. 119, their highest-ever ranking, after wins over Central African Republic and Ghana. Kosovo (No. 101, up four) also reached an all-time high.
Guinea-Bissau (No. 103, up seven), Azerbaijan (No. 114, up six), Libya (No. 120, up six), Malaysia (No. 130, up seven) and Rwanda (No. 133, up seven) were the other big movers in the November ranking.
Others moving in the right direction were Tunisia (No. 28, up 4), Ecuador (No. 32, up four), Romania (No. 43, up five), Slovakia (No. 45, up five) and Greece (No. 47, up four).
Samoa (No. 187), American Samoa (No. 188) and Tonga (No. 196) re-entered the rankings after months of being out through inactivity.
Peru (No. 35) and Gambia (No. 126) both fell nine places.
FIFA says 118 matches were played in November.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 30, 2023
