PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Warriors earned a rankings boost ahead of their crucial weekend World Cup qualifier when they displaced Jamaica as the Caribbean Football Union’s No1 team yesterday.
T&T climbed seven places up FIFA’s September ratings list released yesterday, vaulting to No 63 while Jamaica remained stationary at 69th for the second month in a row.
With their 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory over El Salvador — on August 12 – being computed in the latest ranking adjustment, T&T return to the CFU’s top spot for the first time since June, the only other month this year that the Jamaicans have not been No.1.
Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz played undefeated in two friendlies in the past month, drawing 0-0 with Ecuador before defeating St Kitts and Nevis 1-0.
T&T could further enhance their ratings and World Cup prospects with a good result on Saturday in their critical CONCACAF qualifier against Honduras in San Pedro Sula.
T&T share the bottom of the play-off standings – on five points – with El Salvador and trail leaders Costa Rica (12), Honduras (10), the USA (10) and Mexico (9) in the series that will automatically qualify the top three teams for the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa.
The rest of the CFU’s top five ranking remains the same as August – Cuba third with a world rating of 87th, followed by Barbados (103rd) and Antigua and Barbuda (106th).
But there has been some movement among the other Top 10 teams.
Suriname dipped from No 6 in the CFU to eighth after dropping from 111th to 119th on FIFA’s list, and Grenada – up five places to 108th in the world – are now the sixth-ranked team in the Caribbean.
Haiti, 115th in the world, are now seventh in the CFU, followed by Suriname, with Guyana (122nd) retaining ninth and St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) re-entering the top flight at No 10.
SVG moved two places up FIFA’s list to 148th and Bermuda lost their Top 10 spot after tumbling 11 places down the world list to 154th.
The Bermudians are now 12th in the CFU, just behind St Kitts and Nevis, who are 152nd on FIFA’s list.
The USA – now rated 11th in the world — are CONCACAF’s No 1 team for the 12th month in a row ahead of Gold Cup champions Mexico, who are 24th on the FIFA list, followed by Costa Rica (39th), Honduras (42nd) with Trinidad and Tobago fifth. Canada (66th) are sixth in the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Foot-ball (CONCACAF), followed by Jamaica, Panama (75th), El Salvador (85th) and Cuba.
Brazil remain FIFA’s No 1 team ahead of 2008 “Team of the Year” Spain, followed by the Netherlands with Italy moving up one to jointly share fourth with Germany.
Russia are sixth, followed by England, Argentina, and Croatia with France 10th.
