By Canadian Press

Canadian men unchanged at a career-high No. 31 in final FIFA rankings of 2024

Dec 19, 2024 | 5:16 AM

The Canadian men go into 2025 unchanged at a career-high No. 31 in the FIFA world rankings.

The new numbers released Thursday offer little movement. While there were 1,181 men’s internationals in 2024, only 21 took place since the Nov. 28 edition of the rankings.

There was no change in the ranking of the top 113 countries.

World Cup champion Argentina, which displaced Brazil atop the rankings in April 2023, continues at No. 1 followed by France, Spain, England and Brazil. Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Germany complete the top 10.

Canada rose four places to No. 31 in the Nov. 28 rankings after defeating Suriname 1-0 and 3-0 last month in the two-legged CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal. That left the Canadian men sandwiched between Hungary and Serbia in the rankings.

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Canada ranks third in CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean, behind the 16th-ranked U.S. and No. 19 Mexico. The Canadian men face Mexico in March in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal in Inglewood, Calif.

The Canadian men had previously been as high as No. 33, achieved in February 2022 under John Herdman after turning heads with an unbeaten run in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying and being named the “Most Improved Side” in 2021 by FIFA after jumping 32 places to No. 40.

Canada’s lowest ranking was No. 122 in October 2014.

The Canadian men started 2024 in 48th place, falling to No. 50 in February, and were ranked 49th in the world when Jesse Marsch took over as coach in mid-May. Since then, the team has been on a steady climb to No. 48, 40, 38, 35 and now 31.

Angola registered the biggest rise in the rankings in 2024, vaulting 32 places to No. 85. Jordan (No. 64, up 23 places) and Fiji (No. 148, up 20) also enjoyed banner years.

Vietnam moved up one spot to No. 114 in the December rankings. Further down the list, 10 teams each moved up one rung: The Gambia (No. 125), India (No. 126), Solomon Islands (No. 147), Lesotho (No. 149), Singapore (No. 160), Cuba (No. 163), St Lucia (No. 167), Malta (No. 168), American Samoa (No. 187) and Gibraltar (No. 196).

Indonesia and Myanmar each slipped two spots, to No. 127 and No. 169, respectively.

The Canadian men finish the year on a three-game winning streak, a five-game unbeaten run (4-0-1) and a 6-3-5 overall record, with one of those draws turning into a penalty shootout loss to Uruguay in the Copa America third-place game and another into a Copa win over Venezuela.

The Canadian women are currently ranked sixth by FIFA.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2024

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press