Thanks to a series of bright performances in the Gold Cup, the United States jumped a whopping 13 places in the latest rankings from FIFA, from 29th to 16th, thanks to consecutive wins against China, Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago. The 4-0 victory against El Salvador will be added to the team’s results list when FIFA next compiles its rankings. Fellow regional power Costa Rica jumped ahead in the rankings six places to 46th, while Mexico fell six places to 26th due to its 2-1 Gold Cup loss to 55th place Honduras.
At the top, France moved up to second thanks to a pair of victories in Euro 2008 qualifying, which put Les Bleus in charge of a tricky Group B that includes World champion Italy (first in the FIFA rankings), Scotland (23rd) and the Ukraine (13th). Brazil fell to third, while Germany moved into fourth ahead of Argentina. Portugal, Spain, England, the Netherlands and Czech Republic now round out the top 10.