More than a dozen CONCACAF nations have lost points on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking published on 27 July 2011, most notably because of the devaluation of points gained from matches at the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup (July 2009). Canada is now ranked 10th amongst CONCACAF nations with 314 points, a 73-point drop from the previous month. The drop in points forced a 22-place drop on the world ranking, from 83rd to 105th overall.
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\u200bThe FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking 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. Matches played more than a year ago are valued 50% of matches played in the last year; matches played more than two years ago are valued at 30% while matches played more than three years ago are valued at 20%.
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\u200bOf the top-10 CONCACAF nations, only Mexico and Costa Rica played matches in July following the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup in June. Both nations took part in South America’s Copa America. Mexico’s three losses in July 2011, combined with the devaluation of its CONCACAF title in 2009 (points scaled from 50% to 30%), resulted in a 138-point drop for Mexico. Mexico also dropped from ninth overall to 20th overall.
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\u200bMexico’s drop was the second biggest amongst the 206 nations on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. Only the world’s number-one ranked Spain lost more points in July, an amazing 283-point drop which included the devaluation of points gained at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa\u0099. Spain retained the number-one spot, however, because the second- and third-place nations also lost big points (Netherlands fell 119 points while Germany fell 112 points).
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\u200bThe world’s top-5 list now reads Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Brazil and Uruguay. Uruguay made the biggest jump of all 206 nations following its continental victory at the Copa America – a 247-point jump from the previous month.
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\u200bWithin CONCACAF, Mexico, USA, Jamaica and Honduras are still the top-four nations. The top-10 also includes Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba and Canada. After Mexico, Haiti had the second-biggest drop in CONCACAF at 121 points while Panama had the third-biggest drop at 87 points.
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\u200bCONCACAF nations will soon learn their schedules for the upcoming monthes following the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil\u0099 Preliminary Draw. That first major “Kick-Off Event” for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil\u0099 will take place on 30 July in Rio de Janeiro. In all, 203 nations will participate in the event which will determine the qualifying draw.
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\u200bFIFA | CONCACAF | TEAM | POINTS
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\u200b20 | 1 | Mexico | 869
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\u200b30 | 2 | USA | 778
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\u200b44 | 3 | Jamaica | 632
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\u200b51 | 4 | Honduras | 592
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\u200b56 | 5 | Costa Rica | 532
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\u200b65 | 6 | Panama | 487
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\u200b78 | 7 | El Salvador | 401
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\u200b88 | 8 | Trinidad and Tobago | 379
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\u200b99 | 9 | Cuba | 330
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\u200b105 | 10 | Canada | 314
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