marktci Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 ZURICH (CP) - Canada jumped five places to No. 85 in the FIFA world soccer rankings Wednesday, its highest position since October 2003. Frank Yallop's team was rewarded for a 1-0 win in Northern Ireland. Canada was as low as No. 99 in September 2004. Northern Ireland, meanwhile, dropped two places to No. 111. Only Ukraine (No. 49, up eight) and Chad (No. 160, up eight) moved more than Canada in February. European champion Greece also jumped five spots to No. 13, its highest position since the FIFA rankings were introduced in 1993. Canada stands ninth in CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean. There were no changes at the top end. Brazil remained No. 1, followed by France, Argentina, the Czech Republic and Spain. Mexico moved up one place into a tie with the Netherlands for No. 6, ahead of England, Portugal and Italy. Canada plays No. 9 Portugal in a March 26 friendly. Slam Sports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 Here's the CONCACAF Rankings: MEXICO - 6 USA - 11 COSTA RICA - 27 JAMAICA - 46 HONDURAS - 58 T&T - 62 GUATEMALA - 70 CUBA - 71 CANADA - 85 HAITI - 91 PANAMA - 101 EL SALVADOR - 110 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadasBest Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 Look out Cuba, here we come! The rankings are such a joke. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loud Mouth Soup Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 Only five spots??? <sarcasm> FIRE YALLOP!! FIRE HIM!!! </sarcasm> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 CONCACAF - The lower half (a couple are missing)..... St Lucia - 118 St Kitts - 119 Barbados - 121 St Vincent - 135 Grenada - 148 Antigua - 153 Bermuda - 156 Nicaragua - 158 Belize - 181 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beaver Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 Further proof that these rankings are pointless and clearly not a reflection of a team's strength relative to ALL other teams? Mexico is 6th in the World? Why, because they dominate CONCACAF? Mexico is NOT better than Holland or Italy or Portugal. As for our ranking, it seems pretty fair, all things considered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
François Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 Didn't Mexico almost beat Italy in the last world cup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 quote:Originally posted by The Beaver Mexico is 6th in the World? Why, because they dominate CONCACAF? Mexico is NOT better than Holland or Italy or Portugal. Really? Would all three emerge with a result in Mexico City? I doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarrek Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 quote:Mexico is NOT better than Holland or Italy or Portugal. I have to agree with you, but they did get further in the 2002 World Cup than Holland (who did not even qualify) and Portugal (3rd place in their group). Mexico also beat finalists Argentina in the Copa America group stage. Maybe that had something to do with the skewed ratings? Mexico certainly isn't better then the USA ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 quote:Originally posted by youllneverwalkalone Really? Would all three emerge with a result in Mexico City? I doubt it. You are probably correct, but that has more to do with Mexico City's altitude than anything else. As Canada has demonstrated, Mexico away from Mexico City are very beatable. Historically they still have a huge edge, but on any given day, many countries in CONCACAF could get a result outside Mexico. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Jarrek I have to agree with you, but they did get further in the 2002 World Cup than Holland (who did not even qualify) and Portugal (3rd place in their group). Mexico also beat finalists Argentina in the Copa America group stage. Maybe that had something to do with the skewed ratings? Mexico certainly isn't better then the USA ... There was a difference in the calibre of opposition faced by Mexico and Holland during qualifying. Maybe consideration of factors like this, account for the fact the Korea is not ranked in FIFA's top four. Next month we'll have a clearer understanding of who is better between Mexico and the United States.[?] Yes, the U.S. beat Mexico in a game at the last World Cup, but to serious contenders at that level the only thing that really matters is if you win the World Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Winnipeg Fury You are probably correct, but that has more to do with Mexico City's altitude than anything else. As Canada has demonstrated, Mexico away from Mexico City are very beatable. Historically they still have a huge edge, but on any given day, many countries in CONCACAF could get a result outside Mexico. Perhaps somebody could dig out Mexico's stats at home. My lazy intuition tells me they're pretty dominant. I would argue the ranking is justified for this reason. I can't imagine too many European sides getting the better of them, much less a point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ref Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 Maybe this is funny, I don't know. But how about if we were to institute a bonus system whereby for each place we move up the coach gets a bonus of $1000. And something to the players too. I am sure Kevin Pipe will gladly sacrifice some of his perks to finance this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhat Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 quote:Originally posted by The Ref I am sure Kevin Pipe will gladly sacrifice some of his perks to finance this. Fat chance. And status quo will make the players fly in coach class. Don't get anyone started ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 quote:Originally posted by youllneverwalkalone Perhaps somebody could dig out Mexico's stats at home. My lazy intuition tells me they're pretty dominant. I would argue the ranking is justified for this reason. I can't imagine too many European sides getting the better of them, much less a point. They are absolutely dominant at home. When Costa Rica beat them at home a few years ago, it was their first loss at home in many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Winnipeg Fury They are absolutely dominant at home. When Costa Rica beat them at home a few years ago, it was their first loss at home in many years. It was their first ever home WCQ defeat (maybe just at Azteca). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertuzzi44 Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 France is over-rated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Winnipeg Fury They are absolutely dominant at home. When Costa Rica beat them at home a few years ago, it was their first loss at home in many years. I was going to check this, but I believe (off the top of my head) that their loss to the Ticos was the first loss ever in a WCQ and the last time they had lost in Azteca was to the English in 1986 in a pre-World Cup friendly (they were knocked out in 86 outside of Azteca). So yeah they're not very beatable at home. Though the US seems have their number over the last few years, could be an interesting one in March. cheers, matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Bertuzzi44 France is over-rated World Cup winners in 1998. Euro winners in 2000. Euro semi-finalists in 1996. Confederations Cup winner in 2001 and 2003. All HUGE for FIFA points. And we're not talking about qualifiers for 2004. Their Golden Generation is gone for the most part, but over-rated is some big words. Their recent chokes (2002 and 2004, although the Greeks DID end up surprising the best teams) kinda obscure their achievements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ferguson Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 I don't think that Mexico should be counted out so quickly. Granted, they had a poor performance in the 2001 Confederations Cup, losing all three games, but the games were to France, giantkillers Australia, and Korea in Korea. They then bounced back with a great performance in Japorea --- defeating Croatia (who beat Italy), Ecuador, and drawing Italy. They may not be sixth in the world, but Mexico could definitely give some European giants runs for their money on neutral soil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Keeper Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Good for the boys, the win wasnt pretty but it puts us up in the worlds eyes a bit(rankings). Cuba only hold that ranking because of their regular advancment in the Carribean Cup. I hope we draw them in the Gold Cup. Im sure the players left from the last GC will not have forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ref Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Daniel It was their first ever home WCQ defeat (maybe just at Azteca). Anyone remembers when we tied them at the Azteca with a free kick by Gerry Gray. The good old days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Joe Keeper Good for the boys, the win wasnt pretty but it puts us up in the worlds eyes a bit(rankings). Cuba only hold that ranking because of their regular advancment in the Carribean Cup. I hope we draw them in the Gold Cup. Im sure the players left from the last GC will not have forgotten. Many of these countries play far more games than Canada. Haiti has been very busy lately. I think they've played 3 games in the last couple of weeks (T&Tx2, Guatemala), and Cuba have also been active. I expect Panama to move up due to the Hex. They could finish 4th. Once again it leads me to question why we don't play more exhibition matches vs CONCACAF opponents. I realize most our squad is now in Europe, but that excuse only goes so far. If we moved up 5 rankings by beating lowly (in the rankings) NI, we could have moved a lot more by beating #71 Cuba. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Beast Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Winnipeg Fury But Mexico still rule Concacaf and will for a long time. Mexico is better then Portugal but not Holland, Or Italy. Mexico can win their home wcq matches which put them lightyears ahead of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Mexico in 1986 I believe were knocked out at Azteca - but not in a loss, but through penalties to West Germany after a 0-0 tie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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