Canadian men climb two places to No. 43 in latest FIFA world rankings

Jul 20, 2023 | 5:27 AM

In the wake of a busy June, the Canadian men have moved up two places to No. 43 in the latest FIFA world rankings.

The top 11 teams are unchanged with World Cup champion Argentina at No. 1. France, Brazil, England, Belgium, Croatia, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal and Spain complete the top 10.

There were 62 matches played since the last edition of the world rankings in June with Canada taking part in six of them.

John Herdman’s team went 2-2-2 during that time period, with both losses coming to the 11th-ranked U.S. The Americans beat Canada 2-0 in the CONCACAF Nations League final and 3-2 in a penalty shootout in the Gold Cup quarterfinal.

Canada moved into third place among CONCACAF teams, overtaking Costa Rica. The Canadians’ highest-ever ranking was No. 33, reached in February 2022.

Gold Cup champion Mexico jumped two places to No, 12, with Switzerland and Morocco each falling one spot to No. 13 and No. 14, respectively. 

Gold Cup runners-up Panama made the biggest climb, vaulting 12 places to No. 45, after defeating the U.S. in a penalty shootout in the semifinal. Jamaica moved up five places to No. 58 after reaching the Gold Cup semifinal, where they fell 3-0 to Mexico.

Costa Rica fell four rungs to No. 46th — and dropped to No. 5 in CONCACAF behind Panama. Guatemala moved in the other direction, up nine spots to No. 107.

At the lower end of the table, there was upward progress for the Cayman Islands (No. 193, up four places), Gibraltar (No. 198, up four), Aruba (No. 199, up four) and Liechtenstein (No. 200, up four).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2023

The Canadian Press