Canadian men slip in latest FIFA soccer rankings

As expected, Canada has dropped out of the top six of CONCACAF countries in the latest FIFA rankings.

The 73rd-ranked Canadians, who slipped four spots in the November numbers, will hope to gain ranking points during the next two international windows to catch No. 69 El Salvador and shorten their World Cup qualifying road.

But it will be a tough task and the Canadians will need help to catch their Central American rival.

The top six teams in CONCACAF come the June rankings will move into the Hex, the most direct World Cup qualifying route out of the region. The Hex round will send three teams from CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean, to Qatar in 2022.

Teams ranked seventh through 35th in the region will have to fight it out in a separate qualifying bracket with the last team standing moving on to face the fourth-placed Hex team to determine who advances to an intercontinental World Cup qualifying playoff.

The latest rankings have El Salvador (1,346 points, up 10) sixth among CONCACAF countries, while Canada (1,331 points, down eight) is seventh.

Canada will have to win its friendly matches and hope El Salvador loses.

Canada can play two matches in each international window, with some geographical restrictions. It can also schedule matches outside the FIFA windows, but such games are worth half the ranking points and it will be harder to get clubs to release players.