Costa Rica falls four spots in latest FIFA rankings

Costa Rica’s men’s national soccer team fell four spots to 47th worldwide in the latest FIFA rankings, which were released Thursday.

The move also dropped La Sele to fourth in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football), behind Mexico, the United States and Jamaica.

Costa Rica’s fall comes as a result of its Nations League draws against Haiti and Curaçao, ranked 88th and 76th, respectively.

Elsewhere in CONCACAF, Canada rose six spots to 69th overall and sixth in the region, narrowly surpassing El Salvador.

That move is significant, because the FIFA rankings will dictate which CONCACAF teams receive a more direct path to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The top six CONCACAF teams — as determined by their FIFA ranking — after the June international window will qualify to the Hexagonal, a six-team round-robin with the top three finishers earning a spot in Qatar 2022.

Currently, the six countries in position to qualify for the Hexagonal are: Mexico, the United States, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Honduras and Canada.

See the full FIFA rankings here.