Canadian men reach record high, climbing to No. 28 in FIFA world rankings
The Canadian men continue to reach new heights under coach Jesse Marsch, climbing two places to a career-high No. 28 in the latest FIFA world rankings.
Canada was ranked 49th when the American coach took over in May 2024. The Canadians have climbed steadily since to No. 48, 40, 38 and 35, surpassing its previous high of No. 33 (set in February 2022 under former coach John Herdman after an impressive World Cup qualifying run) when it reached No. 31 in November.
Canada closed out the year unchanged at No. 31 before setting a new mark in April at No. 30.
WATCH | Analyzing Canada's Gold Cup performance:
Analyzing Jesse Marsch's Gold Cup tournament, plus Jonathan David's transfer to Juventus
2 days ago
Duration 12:04
Soccer analyst Jordan Wilson joins Andi Petrillo on Just Soccer to break down the Gold Cup Final, Jesse Marsch's performance in the tournament, and the significance of Jonathan David's move to Serie A.
Since then, the Canadians beat Ukraine 4-2 and lost to Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout in the Canadian Shield Tournament and defeated Honduras 6-0 and El Salvador 2-0, drawn Curacao 1-1, and lost a penalty shootout to Guatemala at the Concacaf Gold Cup.
Canada's lowest ranking was No. 122 in October 2014.
The top five teams in the new rankings are unchanged with Argentina No. 1 followed by Spain, France, England and Brazil. Portugal jumps one place to No. 6, dropping the Netherlands to No. 7. Belgium is unchanged at No. 8 with Germany and Croatia each climbing one spot to No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.
Italy drops two places to No. 11.
WATCH | Waiting for the World Cup:
Waiting for the World Cup
29 days ago
Duration 2:23
Gold Cup winner Mexico jumps four spots to No. 13, behind unchanged Morocco, to leapfrog the U.S. and take over top spot in Concacaf. The Americans, beaten 2-1 by Mexico in Sunday's Gold Cup final, moved up one place to No. 15.
Canada ranks third in Concacaf, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Canada's next matches are against No. 48 Romania in Bucharest and No. 31 Wales in Swansea during the September FIFA window, followed by home and away friendlies in October against No. 24 Australia in Montreal and No. 14 Colombia in Harrison, N.J.
Co-host Canada opens World Cup play on June 12, 2026, in Toronto.
Costa Rica is the biggest climber in the new rankings, up 14 places to No. 40 after making the Gold Cup quarterfinals, where it lost to the U.S. in a penalty shootout. No. 66 Honduras, up nine places, and No. 100 Guatemala, up six places, also jump thanks to making the Gold Cup semifinals.
No. 70 Jamaica, No. 90 Haiti, No. 132 Congo and No. 171 Maldives each fell seven places.
FIFA says 202 matches were played since the last rankings.
Jonathan David: 'We've matured and got better' ahead of 2026 World Cup
29 days ago
Duration 8:54
Anastasia Bucsis sits down with Canadian soccer star Jonathan David to talk about the 2026 World Cup, captaining at the Gold Cup, transfer rumours, and his impact at Lille in France.
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