Jamaica Climb Slowly Up FIFA Rankings

July 25, 2019 Neil-Monticelli Harley-Rüdd

Gold Cup run helps with Reggae Boyz’ World Cup qualifier berth

Theodore Whitmore’s Jamaica have moved up two places to be the world no.52 team following FIFA’s latest rankings, having recently reached their third successive CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-final.

But head coach Whitmore was unable to steer his Reggae Boyz to a hat-trick of Gold Cup finals on the bounce, suffering a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the United States earlier this month.

Had the Boyz won their inaugural Gold Cup they would have broken back into the top 50.

Mexico, who beat the US in the prestigious tournament’s final, remain the highest ranked CONCACAF nation at no.12.

The Boyz sit fourth among the CONCACAF sides, trailing the United States (no.22) and Costa Rica (44).

CONCACAF has determined that only the leading six nations in the June 2020 world rankings will compete for the region’s direct FIFA 2022 World Cup berths.

This appears good news for Jamaica, as Whitmore has been a steady influence on the Boyz since being reinstalled as head coach a few years ago.

Other nations chasing these automatic CONCACAF slots include Honduras (67), El Salvador (68), Panama (74), Canada (78), Curacao (79) and Haiti (83).

Three teams from the CONCACAF region will qualify for the highly lucrative World Cup finals in Qatar that kicks off on 21 November 2022, with 32 nations set to compete in the heat of the Middle East.

Four Reggae Boyz swarm an Argentine player in the 2015 Copa America tournament

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