An Apology; Canada makes significant jump; Whats next…

Trying to get back on track
First, I would like to thank everyone who visited and especially those who commented during the Gold Cup. I just wanted to let you all know that I did not abandon the blog when we lost to Honduras, as I did not even have time to write a preview for the match due to my laptop crashing. Lets just say I wasnt in the mood to even look at this Dell piece of junk for a couple weeks after. Now since that is out of the way…

FIFA Rankings- August 2009
The on-field success of Canada’s national men’s soccer team during the 2009 Gold Cup has carried over into the world rankings.

The Canadian team jumped 26 spots in the FIFA world rankings, climbing to 66th place in the world and ranking fifth overall among CONCACAF nations. Canada’s overall jump was 138 points, which was the largest in the world.

Canada played five games since the July rankings, posting a 2-1-1 record and advancing the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Their tournament came to an end after a 1-0 loss to to Honduras in Philadelphia.

The Canadians also posted a 3-0 victory over Guatemala on June 30 in an international friendly.

Canada’s highest ranking was December 1996 when they were No. 40, while their lowest was 103rd in March, 2007.

Haiti had the second-biggest gain in points in the August ranking with 47, as it moved up to 115th place from 120th, while El Salvador picked up 32 points and climbed nine spots to 81st.

In CONCACAF, the United States is ranked first, followed by Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras then Canada.

What is next for Canada and the CSA…

Here are some suggestions:

1. Remove the interim tag off of Stephen Hart
2. Stop letting the MLS ignore international dates (I understand we did not have our strongest possible squad, but neither did alot of other teams. This would defenitely add some flare to the tournament)
3. Force Greg Sutton into retirement
4. Set up some friendlies over the next 2-3 years with prestigious teams, and play in venues like the Rogers Centre etc (Give us Canadian fans something to look forward too until the next qualifying campaign)
5. DO anything and everything to make sure we are in Brazil in 2014.

Canada has yet to schedule its next match which will most likely be a friendly sometime in October or November. Expect some new things from me in the meantime.