The monthly FIFA ranking is a good thermometer of what is
taking place in the world of football. While the ranking methodology has had its critics
over the years, it serves as the best proxy on how teams compare to each other.
Concacaf (the soccer federation covering North America,
Central America and the Caribbean) has 35 FIFA associated federations and 6
other teams that are members of Concacaf only. These six members participate in
regional competitions but not World Cup Qualifiers or are part of the FIFA ranking.
We have expanded a study done by another blog several years
ago (see link here: http://usasoccer.blogspot.com/2006/09/fifa-rankings-concacafs-best.html)
and see how the different teams in the region have done over the years.
Mexico and the US dominate the top 2 positions. Between them
they have been in first or second place all throughout the FIFA ranking history
except for July 2009 when Costa Rica occupied the number two position for one
month. Here is the breakdown on the top 2 positions:
|
|
First Place Ranking
|
Second Place Ranking
|
|
Mexico
|
189
|
40
|
|
USA
|
43
|
191
|
|
Costa Rica
|
0
|
1
|
While Mexico has clearly been the dominant force, the US has
seen tremendous growth in the past decade. Thirty six of the US’s forty-three
first place finishes have been in the last five years. They are no longer
playing second fiddle to their neighbors down south.
Top 3
When considering the teams who have been consistently in the
top three spots in Concacaf, the field continues to grow. USA and Mexico are
omnipresent. As expected, Costa Rica is in third place with a decent advantage
over Honduras. Panama’s football pedigree has been growing by leaps in bounds
and all their third place finishes have occurred in the last two years. A total
of nine teams have been in the top 3.
|
Country
|
Top 3 Finish
|
|
USA
|
232
|
|
Mexico
|
232
|
|
Costa Rica
|
73
|
|
Honduras
|
62
|
|
Jamaica
|
42
|
|
Trinidad and Tobago
|
29
|
|
Panama
|
16
|
|
Cuba
|
4
|
|
Canada
|
3
|
|
El Salvador
|
2
|
|
Haiti
|
2
|
Top 5
The list grows by one (Guatemala) when we look at top five
finishes. Nations like Guatemala and El Salvador are underperformers. Guatemala
has now missed the Gold Cup twice after being eliminated by Belize and
Nicaragua. The Caribbean nations of Jamaica, T&T, Cuba and Haiti benefit
from playing regular FIFA sanctioned competitions like the Caribbean Cup
against the minnows of the region. To be fair, the first two have successfully
qualified to the World Cup since the Hexagonal came into existence.
Honduras surpasses Costa Rica in this category by a good
margin. The Ticos have had some rough spots through the years that have seen
them drop significantly in the rankings.
Concacaf continues to be top heavy with the nations below
being the only ones that can really compete against each other. Even within
these nations, there is a gulf of class between the top tier nations and the
bottom of the list.
|
Country
|
Top 5 Finish
|
|
USA
|
232
|
|
Mexico
|
232
|
|
Honduras
|
185
|
|
Costa Rica
|
164
|
|
Jamaica
|
132
|
|
Trinidad and Tobago
|
85
|
|
Canada
|
56
|
|
Panama
|
51
|
|
Cuba
|
9
|
|
Haiti
|
7
|
|
El Salvador
|
6
|
|
Guatemala
|
3
|
Top 10
To finish off, we have the countries that cracked the top
10. While the Top 10 in Concacaf is not a great feat in the soccer community,
it is a massive ordeal for some of these smaller nations. Twenty-two out of the
regions members (62%) have made it to the list. The “Big Four” have been in it
every time (even though CR and HON both flirted with 10th place more
than once). Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Canada have also been very consistent
in this group.
All the nations that have been part of the Top 5 have been
dominant in the Top 10. The drop-off between them and the other nations is
significant (100 Top 10 appearances vs 20). Some less than usual suspects start
appearing on this list. Most of these appearances are the result of good runs
in the Caribbean Cup and the early stages of the World Cup Qualifying.
Guatemala and El Salvador have pathetic percentages over barely over 50%.
|
Country
|
Top 10 Finish
|
|
USA
|
232
|
|
Mexico
|
232
|
|
Honduras
|
232
|
|
Costa Rica
|
232
|
|
Trinidad and Tobago
|
228
|
|
Jamaica
|
224
|
|
Canada
|
221
|
|
Cuba
|
176
|
|
Guatemala
|
130
|
|
El Salvador
|
123
|
|
Haiti
|
107
|
|
Panama
|
100
|
|
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
|
20
|
|
Bermuda
|
20
|
|
Suriname
|
15
|
|
Puerto Rico
|
7
|
|
Barbados
|
6
|
|
Dominican Republic
|
4
|
|
Grenada
|
4
|
|
Guyana
|
3
|
|
Antigua and Barbuda
|
3
|
|
St. Lucia
|
1
|
