Canada set new highs on the back of Rio success
Canada’s bronze medal at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 has seen them reach their highest-ever position of fourth in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking.
Olympic football has accounted for around 40 per cent of the 63 matches played in the last two months, with many of the remaining fixtures being friendly games.
By winning five of their six matches at Rio 2016, Canada not only matched their achievement of claiming bronze at the London 2012 Olympics, but they have also been rewarded with a massive 93-point gain in the ranking to move up six places from tenth. This is also the first time that Canada have ever been in the top five, surpassing their previous high of seventh.
Canada’s fourth-place ranking is not the only notable achievement for John Herdman’s side, however, as their 93-point gain has also set a new record in the 13-year history of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking, surpassing the 87-point gain by Cameroon in July 2015 and the 80-point gain by Equatorial Guinea in December 2008.
Despite losing to Sweden on penalties in the quarter-finals at Rio 2016, the USA remain top of the ranking although their lead over new Olympic champions Germany has been cut by more than half to their lowest-ever rating of 2,137 points. Although the Swedes claimed their first-ever Olympic medal with silver at Rio 2016, the Scandinavians have lost seven points in the ranking and remain in sixth place. Quarter-finalists Australia have also dropped two places to seventh, while Olympic hosts Brazil have fallen to their lowest-ever ranking of tenth after missing out on the podium. Other top-ten nations to have slipped are England and Japan, who have both dropped one position to fifth and eighth, respectively.
As well as Canada, two other teams are currently higher than ever before – South Africa (48th), who have moved up four places after holding Brazil to a goalless draw in the group stage at Rio 2016, and Uganda (129th), who have made their world ranking debut after a 4-0 friendly defeat to Kenya on 3 July. The Faroe Islands (75th) are the next highest climbers, jumping five places after friendly wins over Lithuania and Latvia earlier this month, whereas the United Arab Emirates (76th) have suffered the biggest drop, falling three places after a pair of friendly defeats to Luxembourg in late June.
Guam (80th) have also re-entered the table, while no teams have disappeared from the ranking due to prolonged inactivity. As a result, 134 teams are currently ranked.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking will be published on 23 December 2016.
Leader: USA
Moves into top ten: None
Moves out of top ten: None
Matches played in total: 63
Most matches played: Canada (8)
Biggest move by ranks: Canada (4th), up 6
Biggest drop by ranks: United Arab Emirates (76th), down 3
Newly ranked teams: Guam, Uganda
Teams no longer ranked due to prolonged inactivity: None
Click here to view the complete ranking.
To find out more about the calculation of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking click here.
