Despite USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter claiming that his team was “dominant” in its 2-0 defeat vs. Canada, FIFA didn’t see it that way. This was evident in the latest FIFA Rankings where Mexico leapfrogged the U.S.
The teams around the U.S. in the world rankings now look like this.
Latest USMNT FIFA Rankings
11. Germany
12. Mexico
13. U.S.
14. Switzerland
15. Croatia
Belgium still top
Senegal and Canada make big gains
Check out the other climbers in the first #FIFARanking of 2022 https://t.co/oNwQTScIBB pic.twitter.com/479K7HpSYe— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) February 10, 2022
In the first @FIFAcom Men's Ranking of 2022, we are placed 1️⃣2️⃣th with 1,647 points.
We are the highest-ranked team from @Concacaf, moving up two spots from the last list. ⚽#HechoDeLosMexicanos | #FMFporNuestroFútbol pic.twitter.com/teM1lisbXs— Mexican National Team (@miseleccionmxEN) February 10, 2022
FIFA has these weird, arbitrary and mystical points it gives out for an international team’s results. The USMNT’s last three results, including the loss to Canada, saw Berhlater’s side lose 5.17 of these points. This dropped the team from 11th to 13th with Germany and Mexico passing the Americans.
Mexico’s victories against Panama and Jamaica, along with a 0-0 draw to Costa Rica, saw El Tri gain 9.6 of FIFA’s magical brownie points. This honestly sounds like Hogwarts and FIFA just says “9 points to Mexico.”
The USMNT had sat behind Mexico in the rankings for six years until Nov. 2021, when the Americans took the Concacaf lead. The U.S. was only in charge for about three months before Mexico regained control.
Canada
What about Canada though? The Canucks are top of the Concacaf World Cup qualifying table and have beat both the U.S. and Mexico. Shouldn’t they be ranked higher? You would think, but this isn’t a college AP top 25 or College Football Playoff ranking where it actually makes some semblance of sense.
Canada continues its climb. With each new FIFA ranking the neighbors from the north set a record for highest ever position.
The climb continues! #CANMNT pic.twitter.com/k714EGqzbn
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) February 10, 2022
In the Feb. 2021 rankings Canada was 73rd in the world and seventh in Concacaf. Fast forward one year and Canada is now 33rd in the world, sitting between Nigeria and Egypt. The Canadians hope they can keep climbing the rankings to avoid being too low of a seed during the World Cup draw.
While these rankings are insignificant in some critic’s eyes, the World Cup draw is based on FIFA’s rankings. The top seven teams in the world and Qatar will be the “one seed” of their respective World Cup groups.
The stronger Canada finishes World Cup qualifying, the better shot it has at getting a more favorable group in the World Cup.
.@TSNScianitti breaks down how the FIFA world rankings work, where the men are currently placed before the update, and why their ranking matters for the World Cup.
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) February 10, 2022
