Posted on December 21, 2011

Given how El Tri has performed in 2011, it should not be surprising that Mexico finished atop the FIFA rankings for CONCACAF teams, the world soccer governing body announced on Wednesday.

Mexico finished in 21st place, down a spot from the previous rankings. The Mexicans accrued 866 points.

El Tri captured the CONCACAF Gold Cup, rolling over the U.S. in the final, 4-2.

The United States (721) was second in 34th place, No. 3 Panama (589) was next at 49th place, followed by fourth-place Honduras (574) at 53rd place, fifth-place Jamaica (573) at 54th and No. 6 Costa Rica (495) at 65th.

World Cup champion Spain finished atop the entire rankings.

There was no movement among the top 19 teams after a month in which only six competitive international matches were played, all involving lower-ranked teams.

The Netherlands stayed in second place, followed Germany, Uruguay and England. Brazil, Portugal, Croatia, Italy and Argentina.

Bosnia-Herzegovina climbed three places as it reached its highest ranking at No. 20. Panama (49th), Estonia (57th) and American Samoa (186th) also hit their highest positions. American Samoa’s 18-place climb was due to its first World Cup qualifying win.

Wales was the best climber of the year, advancing 64 spots to 48th.

Ivory Coast remained Africa’s top team in 16th. Japan, at No. 19 overall, took the honors for Asia, with New Zealand at 119th place, was the best of Oceania sides.

The full CONCACAF rankings (FIFA rankings, CONCACAF rankings, country, points, movement):

21 1 Mexico 866 -1

34 2 USA 721 0

49 3 Panama 589 2

53 4 Honduras 574 1

54 5 Jamaica 573 -7

65 6 Costa Rica 495 -1

69 7 El Salvador 463 0

72 8 Canada 455 0

76 9 Trinidad and Tobago 448 10

81 10 Haiti 429 -3

87 11 Antigua and Barbuda 404 -4

90 12 Guatemala 397 0

91 13 Guyana 387 6

107 14 Bermuda 310 2

108 15 Puerto Rico 309 -2

115 16 Cuba 290 -23

116 17 St. Kitts and Nevis 285 1

125 18 Suriname 254 -3

131 19 Dominican Republic 247 -2

134 20 Grenada 241 -28

141 21 Belize 194 -1

144 22 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 170 2

151 23 Curaçao 146 -2

154 24 Bahamas 141 -1

154 25 Nicaragua 141 -1

164 26 Aruba 120 8

165 27 Barbados 119 -4

171 28 Dominica 100 2

178 29 US Virgin Islands 82 -1

183 30 Cayman Islands 74 -2

185 31 St. Lucia 65 -1

199 32 British Virgin Islands 23 -5

200 33 Turks and Caicos Islands 13 -5

201 34 Anguilla 9 -4

206 35 Montserrat 0 -2

Photo: The Mexicans celebrate winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup after defeating the U.S. in the final, 4-2. Photo by Joy Rubenstein

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Categories: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Caribbean, Cayman Islands, Central America, CONCACAF, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, North America, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S.A.
Tags: CONCACAF, El Tri, FIFA, FIFA rankings

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