Canada up a spot to No. 60 in FIFA rankings
Mexico up to No. 16, U.S. up to 27th as World Cup qualifying moves on
By SPORTS NETWORK
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  Canada's soccer players pose for a team photo before their World Cup 2014 qualifying soccer match against Cuba in Havana on June 8, 2012. The Reds were knocked out of World Cup qualifying last month after dropping consecutive away matches in Panama and Honduras. (REUTERS) |
The latest edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Rankings saw plenty of change as 77 World Cup qualifiers were played since the last time the rankings were released.
Canada moved up one spot to No. 60 in the world, four spots behind Honduras, the side that knocked it out of World Cup qualifying last month following an 8-1 embarrassment in San Pedro Sula.
To the surprise of no one, Spain remains on top followed by Germany, but Argentina (3rd, up 1) jumped ahead of Portugal (4th, down 1) after securing wins over Uruguay and Chile in the past month.
Italy (5th, up 3) also had a good month, moving up three places after wins over Armenia and Denmark, while Russia (9th, up 3) and Croatia (10th, up 1) moved into the top 10 at the expense of Uruguay and Greece.
Algeria (19th, up 5) reached its highest-ever position in the rankings this month while Belgium (20th, up 10) continues to rise with a strong group of young players.
Hungary (30th, up 19) beat Estonia and Turkey to make a big jump, while Korea Republic (32nd, down 7) and the Republic of Ireland (36th, down 8) made considerable slips.
Both Mexico (14th, up 5) and the United States (27th, up 5) moved up as both teams secured places in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying.
The next edition of the rankings will be released on Wednesday, Dec. 19.
