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SLAM! Sports SLAM! Soccer World Cup COLUMNS THE WORLD
INTERACTIVE ALSO ON SLAM!  |
Wednesday, May 10, 2000No change for Canada in FIFA rankingsZURICH (CP) -- Canada remains at No. 63 in the world rankings released today by FIFA.The Canadians, tied with Georgia, are sandwiched between China and Honduras. Canada plays the Hondurans on May 30 in an exhibition game in Winnipeg, its first action since winning the Gold Cup in February. Brazil continues its stranglehold atop the ratings, followed by the Czech Republic, France and Spain. Argentina moves up one spot to No. 5, dropping Germany to No. 6. Croatia jumps three places to No. 7, ahead of Mexico (unchanged) and Norway (down one) in a tie for No. 8 and Romania (down two) at No. 10. England is at No. 12 (up one), Italy No. 14 (unchanged), the U.S. No. 19 (down one) and Scotland No. 24 (down three). Ghana, taking advantage of two World Cup qualifying wins over Tanzania, was the biggest mover of the month, vaulting 10 places to No. 47. Other movers in the top 50 were South Africa (No. 20, up four), Egypt (No. 32, up five), Iran (No. 42, up four) and Lithuania (No. 50, up four). Also advancing were CONCACAF teams Haiti (No. 82, up eight) and Barbados (No. 102, up eight). In June, Canada will play the loser of a Barbados-Cuba playoff to determine who advances to the semifinal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Barbados has the upper hand in that playoff after scoring an away 1-1 tie on the weekend. Canada ranks fifth among CONCACAF countries behind Mexico, the U.S., Trinidad and Tobago (No. 41, down one) and Jamaica (No. 55, down five). Cuba was unchanged in the rankings at No 75. 
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