In wake of Venezuela win, Canadian men climb one spot in No. 27 in new FIFA rankings

Canada midfielder Ismael Kone (8) celebrates with teammates including midfielder Stephen Eustaquio (7) after scoring his side's first goal against Venezuela during the first half of an international friendly soccer match, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Canada has climbed one place to No. 27 in the latest FIFA rankings, after defeating Venezuela 2-0 and playing Ecuador to a scoreless draw in the FIFA November international window.

Elsewhere the United States, climbing two spots to No. 14, leapfrog World Cup co-hosts Mexico, which slips one rung to No. 15. Canada stands third in North and Central America and the Caribbean, above No. 30 Panama.

The Canadians are sandwiched between Australia and Ukraine in the overall rankings. Canada beat Ukraine 4-2 in June and lost 1-0 to Australia last month.

There was no change at the top with Spain No. 1, ahead of Argentina, France and England. Brazil moves up two places to No. 5, dropping Portugal to No. 6 and the Netherlands to No. 7.

Belgium is unchanged at No. 8 with Germany and Croatia each jumping one spot to ninth and 10th, respectively. Italy falls out of the top 10, dropping three places to No. 12 after a 4-1 home defeat by Norway.

Canada had fallen two places, from career-high No. 26, in the October rankings after losing to Australia and drawing Colombia 0-0.

The new rankings take into account 149 games, including 74 friendlies.

Ecuador remains at No. 23 while Venezuela, which edged Australia 1-0 on Friday, climbed two places to No. 48.

Uzbekistan (No. 50), the Philippines (No. 136), Turkmenistan (No. 137) and Malta (No. 161) each jump five places while Kosovo (No. 80) climbs four spots.

Uzbekistan cracks the top 50 for the first tine since October 2016.

Moving in the other direction are El Salvador (No. 100), Luxembourg (No. 103) and India (No. 142), each down six places.

Forty-two of the 48 berths at next year’s World Cup have now been filled. There six remaining berths will be decided via playoffs in March.

---

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2025

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press