Soca Warriors still 63rd in world

ST LUCIA, who held top-rated Jamaica to a Digicel Caribbean Cup 1-1 draw earlier this month, have climbed two places up the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) rankings to fifth. In the latest ratings issued yesterday by world governing body FIFA, the St Lucians,  who had already jumped six places on the November list, rose another eight places in the December ratings to be the 114th ranked team in the world.

They hurdled Barbados and St Kitts and Nevis to occupy the number five CFU spot, behind Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, and Haiti.  Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz, who edged the St Lucians 2-1 in the return Caribbean Cup fixture on Sunday, re-entered the world’s top-50 this month, improving four places to 49th.  The top four spots in the CFU remain the same and the other team position changes in the Top-Ten, are St Kitts and Nevis —  previously fifth —  slipping to sixth, and Barbados dropping two places to seventh. And Brazil continued to enjoy a solid rating as the world’s number one team, ahead of France, with Argentina third.  The Czech Republic are fourth, followed by Spain and the Netherlands.

CFU Rankings —  December (world rating in brackets)
1 Jamaica (49); 2 Trinidad and Tobago (63); 3 Cuba (76); 4 Haiti (95); 5 St Lucia (114); 6 St Kitts and Nevis (118); 7 Barbados (121); 8 St Vincent and the Grenadines (137); 9 Grenada (144); 10 Suriname (149); 11 Antigua and Barbuda (153); 12 Bermuda (157); 13 Netherlands Antilles (163); 14 British Virgin Islands (165); 14 Dominica (165); 16 Dominican Republic (170); 17 Cayman Islands (176); 18 Guyana (182); 19 Bahamas (192); 20 Puerto Rico (194);
21 US Virgin Islands (196); 22 Anguilla (197); 23 Aruba (198); 24 Montserrat (202); 25 Turks and Caicos Islands (203). (CMC)