Warriors slip in FIFA rankingsThursday, July 3 2008
CUBA ARE back at the top and Suriname surged up to the No 2 spot in the latest Caribbean Football Union (CFU) ratings released yesterday.
From a flurry of World Cup qualifiers in the past month, Cuba and Suriname made favourable gains on FIFA’s Coca Cola world list while previous CFU No 1 Trinidad and Tobago plunged out of the top 100 to their lowest ever rating in world football.
On the back of their World Cup qualifying wins over Antigua and Barbuda (4-3 and 4-0) and a friendly triumph (1-0) over St Vincent and the Grenadines in June, Cuba jumped 26 places up FIFA’s list to 78th.
The climb moved them from third to first in the CFU, giving them pole position in the Caribbean for the first time since they lost the top spot to TT in March.
Suriname stunned last month’s CFU No 4 side Guyana 2-1 in Paramaribo and then 1-0 in Guyana to be the biggest world movers for July.
They rushed 58 places up to their highest ever world ranking of No 87, resulting in a considerable climb from tenth to second in the CFU.
TT’s Soca Warriors, No 1 in the CFU for four consecutive months from March to June, were badly hurt by their shock 2-1 home loss to Bermuda last month.
TT rallied to win the return match in Hamilton 2-0 to advance in the World Cup qualifying series but the eight-time Caribbean Cup champions still tumbled off their CFU podium and to 102nd in the world, their first time out of the top 100 since FIFA introduced its world rankings in August 1993.
The Soca Warriors are now fourth in the CFU, their lowest position in the regional rankings since November last year when the CFU listed them behind Haiti, Cuba, and St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).
Jamaica, handsome 13-0 aggregate winners over the Bahamas in World Cup qualifying last month, slipped from second to third in the CFU although they climbed four places on the FIFA list to 94th.
Bermuda moved 21 places up FIFA’s list to 118th while taking the No 5 spot in the CFU, just ahead of Haiti, who are 119th in the world.
Guyana, 122nd in the world, are seventh in the region and the CFU’s top ten list is completed by Antigua and Barbuda (135th in the world) at eighth, Barbados (137th) ninth and Grenada (139th) in position ten.
Mexico and the USA maintained their clear positions as dominant teams in CONCACAF, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football.
Ranked 19th in the world, the Mexicans, who recently appointed ex-England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson as coach, remain No 1 in CONCACAF ahead of the USA, who are 30th.
Honduras stay third in the confederation at No 48 on the FIFA list.
Panama, 69th in the world, are fourth in CONCACAF, ahead of Canada (77th), with Cuba, Costa Rica (79th), Suriname, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago completing CONCACAF’s Top-ten.
Among the world’s top teams, new European champions Spain have grabbed the No 1 spot for the first time ever.
Spain have become the sixth team to hold the World No 1 position, joining Brazil, Italy, France, Germany and Argentina, who can all boast of carrying the label the world’s best at some point.
World Cup holders Italy are ranked second, followed by Germany and Brazil, with Argentina at fourth and the Netherlands fifth.
CFU Rankings - July 2008 (world ranking in brackets)
1 Cuba (78)
2 Suriname (87)
3 Jamaica (94)
4 Trinidad and Tobago (102)
5 Bermuda (118)
6 Haiti (119)
7 Guyana (122)
8 Antigua & Barbuda (135)
9 Barbados (137)
10 Grenada (139)
11 Puerto Rico (146)
12 Netherlands Antilles (149)
13 St Vincent and the Grenadines (151)
14 St Kitts & Nevis (160)
15 St Lucia (162)
16 Bahamas (166)
16 Turks and Caicos Islands (166)
18 British Virgin Islands (171)
19 Dominican Republic (177)
20 Cayman Islands (187)
21 Dominica (191)
22 US Virgin Islands (193)
23 Anguilla (199)
23 Montserrat (199)
23 Aruba (199)
(CMC)
