Sport
Published March 24, 2023 10:33 AM ET
Adriana Leon of Canada celebrates with her teammates after scoring a goal against Australia in a friendly match in Sydney, on September 6, 2022. (Rick Rycroft / THE CANADIAN PRESS / AP)
Canada remains unchanged at No. 6 newest FIFA women’s ranking which saw Cabo Verde and Saudi Arabia included for the first time.
The top five are also the same as the US above, ahead of Germany, Sweden, England and France.
Some 112 international matches have been played, including a playoff tournament for this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, since the last rankings were released in December.
The new ranking features 188 teams, 10 more than at the same time last year
Spain is No. 7 followed by the Netherlands and Brazil. World Cup co-hosts Australia returned to the top 10, moving up two places, while 52nd-placed Panama (up five) and 103rd Kosovo (up eight) also moved.
In joining Panama in booking the last available World Cup spot, No. 21 Portugal (up one) and No. 53 Haiti (up by two) posted the highest total points in the rankings.
Cabo Verde, a group of islands west of Senegal in the North Atlantic also known as Cape Verde, is ranked at No. 133 while Saudi Arabia comes in at No. 171. The Saudi women made their international debut in February 2022 in a 2 -0 win over Seychelles.
North Korea, which is in 10th place, dropped out of the ranking due to inactivity. FIFA said its last game, for ranking purposes, was a 3-3 draw with Italy on March 6 2019.
The next women’s world ranking will be published on June 9.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 24, 2023
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