Mexico, USMNT lead CONCACAF teams in Top 10 FIFA World rankings after 16-year absence

Continental neighbours and rivals, Mexico and the United States have been ranked as part of the Top 10 football countries according to the latest FIFA rankings. The rankings were released in August by the World football governing body, FIFA. This is a great achievement for the CONCACAF teams as they are the only representatives of the Central American region in the Top 20 of the FIFA World rankings. 

The El Tri made a comeback to the Top 10 of the ranked nations after almost 5 months outside of the Top 10 rankings. Mexico was 9th in the February FIFA rankings but dropped to 11th in the April rankings. Since then, they have been out of the Top 10 till this August. Though they are still a long way from their best-ever ranking of 4th position they seem to be a team on the rise. 

On the other hand, Gregg Berhalter's United States Men's National Team (USMNT) made one of the biggest jumps to place 10th on the FIFA rankings. The USMNT gained 92.33 points in the period under review, the second-highest points gained next to Italy's 102.61. The 10th position also saw the United States team return to the Top 10 after a 16-year absence. The last time the USMNT ranked in the Top 10 was in 2005 when they ranked 8th overall. 

This massive movement by both the El Tri and the USMNT is a testament to the progress being made by CONCACAF teams. The two teams are the highest-ranked teams in their region and also the flagbearers. The next ranked team from  CONCACAF in Costa Rica in 44th position, followed by Jamaica in 50th.