Jamaica Leaps Massive 42 places in latest FIFA Rankings
Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz fresh from their Caribbean Cup triumph have made a giant leap, moving all of 42 places to 71 on the November release of the FIFA/Coca Cola World Rankings.
The Boyz – coached by German Winfried Schafer – won the Caribbean title for a 6th time after beating arch rivals Trinidad and Tobago 4-3 on penalties in the November 18 final at the Montego Bay Stadium in Catherine Hall.
That result saw the Jamaicans ending the tournament undefeated while scoring 6 goals and conceding once. Next up for the Jamaicans? The Copa America in June where they will face defending champions Uruguay, Paraguay (75) and Argentina.
The move, which was the biggest by a team in the top 100 of the FIFA Rankings, means the Reggae Boyz are the third highest ranked team in the Caribbean and 7th in CONCACAF.
Brazil 2014 quarterfinalists Costa Rica (16) continue to lead teams from the region followed by Mexico (20th, down 3) and United States (28th, down 5).
Trinidad & Tobago – who lost the Jamaica in the Caribbean Cup final – occupies the no.54 (down 5) followed by Panama (56) and Haiti (68th up 25).
CONCACAF representation in the top 100 is completed by Honduras (72), Guatemala (73), Cuba (79), Antigua & Barbuda (80), Dominican Republic (91) and El Salvador (93).
The November edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking reveals very little change in the top ten, with the top seven positions unaltered from last month and world champions Germany still out in front ahead of Argentina and Colombia. France, however, are now in joint seventh place together with Portugal (7th, up 2). In the top 20, England (13th, up 7), Romania (15th, up 6) and Czech Republic (17th, up 5) have all made good progress.
Top 10: Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium, Netherlands, Brazil, Portugal, France, Spain, Uruguay.
Guinea (38th, up 17) have climbed into the top 50 on the back of two victories in CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2015 qualifiers, as have Mali (49th, up 9), with their rise coming at the expense of Trinidad and Tobago (54th, down 5) and Egypt (60th, down 22). As a result, the regional composition of the top 50 has shifted slightly in favour of Africa (10 teams, up 1). With the exception of CONCACAF (3 teams in the top 50, down 1), there are no other changes to the number of top 50 teams of the other confederations (UEFA: 31; CONMEBOL: 6; AFC: 0; OFC: 0).