The Canadian women, despite an Olympic spying scandal that cost the team its coach and a six-point penalty, have climbed two spots to No. 6 in the latest FIFA world rankings.
Canada, which went to Paris as the defending Olympic champion, was rewarded for its on-field performance, posting wins over France, New Zealand and Colombia to survive the point deduction and make it to the knockout round where it lost a penalty shootout to Germany in the quarterfinals.
FIFA subsequently barred coach Bev Priestman and two members of her staff from football for a year. Canada Soccer has initiated an independent review into the scandal.
Canada's highest-ever position was No. 4, a ranking it last held in March 2018.
The U.S., which won Olympic gold in Paris, climbed four spots to return to No. 1 after a year's absence.
England, which was not part of the Olympic competition, moved up one spot to No. 2 at the expense of former No. 1 Spain, which fell to third after losing to Brazil in the semifinals and Germany in the bronze-medal match. The Germans remained No. 4 in the new rankings.
Sweden moved up one spot to No. 5, followed by Canada, Japan (unchanged at No. 7) and Olympic silver medallist Brazil, up one at No. 8. North Korea climbed one place to No. 9 while France plummeted eight spots to No. 10.
The French find themselves in their lowest ranking position since September 2019 after losing to Brazil in the Olympic quarterfinals and being beaten by Ireland in the lead-up to the Games.
Colombia and New Zealand, Canada's other group opponents at the Olympics, went different ways in the new rankings. Colombia moved up one spot to a career-high No. 21 while New Zealand fell three places to No. 31.
Mexico, ranked third in CONCACAF behind the U.S. and Canada, fell one rung to No. 30.
Five other teams have achieved their highest-ever rankings: Iceland (No. 13), Zambia (No. 62), Solomon Islands (No 86), Cabo Verde (No. 130) and Central African Republic (No. 144).
Liechtenstein debuts in the rankings at No. 187 after drawing and losing to Namibia (1-1 and 2-0), bringing the total number of teams in the ranking to a record 194.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2024
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
