TT footballers slip to 67th in world ratings

Positions in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) ratings for August have remained exactly the same as they were for July although some of the region’s top teams have slid several places down the world list. The CFU’s number one team Jamaica fell five places from the July position to 54th on FIFA’s list, and all of the teams in the group’s top five slipped from their world spots last month.  Second-ranked Trinidad and Tobago slid four places to 67th but their nearest rivals on the CFU list also suffered drops —  Cuba going down eight places to 74th, Haiti four places to 95th and St Kitts and Nevis four places, to 112th.

The bottom half of the top-ten held more steadily on the world list —  sixth-ranked Barbados up one to 115th, St Lucia slipped one spot to 128th, Grenada stayed at 138th, Suriname kept their 147th spot, and the CFU’s tenth ranked St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) moved up two places to 151st. Ahead of the CONCACAF World Cup semi-final series starting this month when CFU teams encounter tough CONCACAF (North, Central America and the Caribbean) opposition, Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz maintained their fourth spot on the CONCACAF list, behind Mexico, who are eighth in the world, the USA (10th) and Costa Rica (28th). Honduras, 59th in the world, are fifth in CONCACAF, followed by Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, Guatemala (79th), Haiti, and Canada (96th). Five-time world champions Brazil stay number one ahead of France, followed by Spain, Argentina, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands, with England seventh.

CFU rankings (world rankings in brackets)
1. Jamaica (54); 2. Trinidad and Tobago (67); 3. Cuba (74); 4. Haiti (95); 5. St Kitts/Nevis (112); 6. Barbados (115); 7. St Lucia (128); 8. Grenada (138); 9. Suriname (147); 10. St Vincent and the Grenadines (151); 11. Bermuda (161); 12. Antigua and Barbuda (163); 13. Dominica (165); 14. Netherlands Antilles (168); 14. Dominican Republic (170); 16. British Virgin Islands (179) 17. Guyana (181); 18. Cayman Islands (183); 19. Bahamas (191); 20. Aruba (196); 21. Anguilla (197); 22. US Virgin Islands (200); 23. Puerto Rico (201); 24. Turks and Caicos Islands (202); 25. Montserrat (205). (CMC)