Canada keeps climbing up FIFA rankings to another all-time high
Less than one year out from their first-ever men’s FIFA World Cup on home soil, Canada continues its rise up the FIFA rankings.
This past week, Canada took to Europe for a pair of matches against Romania and Wales, coming out on top in both games by a 3-0 and 1-0 score.
While the official FIFA rankings aren’t out yet, a look at projected live rankings (and the fact that the international window is now closed) shows that Canada will be moving up one more spot from No. 28 to a new all-time high of No. 27.
“These 10 days and how we’ve used [our players] and maximized them, it was probably the best 10 days we’ve had together,” head coach Jesse Marsch told reporters earlier this week, as per MLSSoccer.com’s Ben Steiner. “I love the team, and I really love working with them. They’re so committed to everything we’re doing, and one of the things that becomes more palpable is the confidence and belief they have in each other.”
Given that Canada was ranked as low as No. 122 a little over a decade ago (back in October 2014), it’s remarkable for long-time supporters of the program to see how far they’ve come. They remain third among CONCACAF nations, sitting behind Mexico (No. 14) and the United States (No. 16).
“I think we feel like we’re trending in a really good direction, and we’re preparing more and more for what we hope to be a big World Cup for us next summer,” Marsch added.
When is Canada playing in the World Cup?
Canada is scheduled to play three group-stage matches in next year’s World Cup, in Toronto on June 12 and in Vancouver on June 18 and 24. The Canadian national team could also play up to an additional two knockout-round matches on Canadian soil, in the Round of 32 and the Round of 16, both in Vancouver.