By Canadian Press

Olympic champion Canadian women unchanged at No. 6 in latest FIFA world rankings

Dec 10, 2021 | 9:14 AM

Canada’s women are unchanged at No. 6 in the latest FIFA world soccer rankings.

The Canadians had jumped two places from No. 8 in the previous edition of the rankings, released in August after Canada won the Tokyo Olympics.

The top three remain unchanged in the new rankings, with the U.S. retaining the top spot it has occupied since 2017. Sweden, beaten by Canada in the Tokyo final, is second and Germany third.

France changes places with the Netherlands, moving up to fourth. Brazil follows Canada in seventh with England eighth, while Spain leapfrogs North Korea to reach a career-high ninth.

Canada’s highest-ever position in the women’s rankings is No. 4, reached first after it jumped six places in the wake of winning bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics. That also marked the first time it had cracked the top-5 — while surpassing its previous high of seventh.

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Canada returned to No. 4 in March 2018. But it slipped to No. 5 in the next edition of the rankings. The Canadians dropped to No. 7 after exiting in the round of 16 at the 2019 World Cup.

The Canadian women are 9-3-5 this year, including two penalty shootout wins at the Olympics. But they are coming off a loss and a tie against Mexico. which moved up one rung to No. 27 in the latest rankings.

Canada has beaten all four top-10 teams it faced this year — the U.S., Sweden, Brazil and England, although it also lost to U.S. and Brazil earlier in the year.

FIFA says 311 internationals have been played since the last women’s rankings came out on Aug. 20, with Canada posting a 2-1-1 record over that period.

Switzerland was the biggest mover in the top 20, rising three places to No. 17.

Montenegro (No. 85, up 13) made the biggest jump. Northern Ireland (No. 46, up two), Venezuela (No. 52, up four) and the Philippines (No. 64, up four) also reached ranking highs.

Guam was the biggest loser, down 14 places to No. 97.

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Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2021.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press