Canada ranked fifth amongst CONCACAF nations

Canada’s men’s national team is the fifth-ranked nation amongst CONCACAF countries in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings released today (July 2008). There was some noted movement amongst the CONCACAF top-10 as Panama moved up to fourth and Suriname jumped up to eighth.
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​Canada’s men’s national team posted one draw and two wins in June, including back-to-back wins over Saint Vincent & the Grenadines in 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Qualifiers. Canada lost points in the standings, however, because older matches lost their value (most notably, last year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup).
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​The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings looks at each country’s international results from the last four years. The ranking takes into account the result, the importance of the match, the strength of the opponent, the regional strength, the time period, and the number of matches per year.
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​Suriname was the biggest mover in the world rankings as it jumped 58 spots from the June rankings. Suriname won both of its 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Qualifiers in June over Guyana. Mexico, meanwhile, jumped five spots to join the world’s top-10 (9th place).
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​Within the CONCACAF top-10, Mexico (1), the United States (2) and Honduras (3) are still the top-three ranked CONCACAF nations. Panama moved from fifth to fourth and Cuba jumped from 10th to sixth place amongst CONCACAF countries.
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​Canada will be facing Jamaica, Honduras and Mexico in CONCACAF Stage III of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Qualifiers. Canada’s three home matches are 20 August against Jamaica in Toronto, ON, 6 September against Honduras in Montréal, QC, and 15 October in Edmonton, AB.
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​Canada will also play Mexico on 10 September in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Honduras on 11 October (venue yet to be announced), and Jamaica on 19 November in Kingston (Jamaica). Canada needs to finish amongst the top-two teams in Group B to advance to CONCACAF Stage IV in 2009.
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​Tickets to the Toronto match will be available through Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.ca or 416.872.5000) while tickets to the Montréal match will be available through Admission (admission.com or 514.790.1245). Tickets for the first two matches go on sale this 14 July. Tickets to the Edmonton match will be available through Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.ca or 780.451.8000); details regarding the Edmonton on-sale date should be announced shortly.
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​Classement mondial : Classement de la CONCACAF : Pays : Points
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​9 1 Mexico 906
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​30 2 USA 780
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​48 3 Honduras 624
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​69 4 Panama 466
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​77 5 Canada 441
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​78 6 Cuba 438
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​79 7 Costa Rica 433
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​87 8 Suriname 396
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​94 9 Jamaica 373
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​102 10 Trinidad & Tobago 358