MIAMI, Florida – The latest edition of the Concacaf Club Rankings is out, and results as of July 24 show that Liga MX powerhouse Monterrey continues to occupy the top spot.
While Rayados remain solidly in the number one position, there have been some movers and shakers over the course of the last several weeks.
Monterrey reach ninth straight week at #1
Mexican giants and five-time Concacaf Champions Cup winners Monterrey reached a ninth straight week atop the Concacaf Club Rankings. Monterrey finished the 2023 Liga MX Clausura regular season with a sparkling 13W-1D-3L record and had a strong semifinal finish in the Liguilla.
The club then parlayed that into a scorching start to the 2023 Apertura with two wins and a draw. After an opening 1-1 draw with Atletico San Luis in week one, Rayados have recorded back-to-back clean sheet wins, 1-0 over Atlas and 3-0 against Mazatlan.
Top 10 gets shake-up
The Top 10 clubs in the Concacaf Club Rankings got a bit of a shake-up since May 16, when the ranking was first announced. There is a newcomer to the Top 10 in the form of Liga MX side Atlas, who previously were ranked 14th but have risen four spots to stake their claim in the 10th position. Atlas are 1W-1D-1L thus far in the 2023 Apertura, including a 2-0 win versus Cruz Azul.
Falling out of the Top 10 is Cruz Azul, who dropped to 13th after previously occupying the ninth position. It has been a rough July for La Maquina, who succumbed to defeat in their first three league matches in the 2023 Apertura and also suffered a last-minute loss to Inter Miami to open Leagues Cup play.
Stock up for Real Salt Lake, stock down for FC Dallas
There have been some big risers and fallers since May 16, when the ranking was first announced. Out of the Top 5 risers, no team has ascended more than Real Salt Lake, who catapulted 17 spots up to 15th thanks to an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions (8W-3D-0L). Not far behind is another MLS side, FC Cincinnati, who climbed 13 places to 21st in the rankings after suffering just one loss in their last 20 matches overall.
The Canadian Premier League (CPL) also saw one of their clubs make a big step forward with York United jumping eight spots to 67th. Atletico Vega Real in the Dominican Republic trampolined eight spots themselves to 135th, while Mexico’s FC Juarez improved their standing by seven spots to 29th.
FC Dallas experienced the biggest drop in the rankings, down 13 spots to 34th after just one win in their last seven matches. The New York Red Bulls were knocked down nine spots to 31st after posting just one win in their last five contests. Los Angeles FC were another side that fell from the Top 10, tumbling eight positions to 11th in the table after going winless in six matches in late May and early June. Fellow MLS sides Seattle Sounders, CF Montreal and New York City FC all fell eight spots; Seattle dropped to 18th in the rankings, CF Montreal to 22nd and NYCFC to 26th.
Familiar faces dot best of Central America
Some familiar faces stand atop the rankings of the best teams in Central America. Honduran giants and 2023 Clausura champions CD Olimpia are first in the Central American region and 39th in the overall rankings. Three-time Concacaf Champions Cup winners and 2023 Costa Rican Clausura champions Deportivo Saprissa are second in Central America and 47th overall.
Guatemalan powerhouse Comunicaciones are third in Central America and 49th overall. Another Costa Rican club, Alajuelense, checks in as the fourth-best club in Central America and 51st overall in Concacaf, while Motagua of Honduras are ranked the fifth best side in Central America and 52nd overall.
The opportunity to rise in the rankings will be presented to these five clubs and more in the 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup, beginning on August 1. A total of 20 Central American teams will be vying for regional honors and trying to secure one of six places in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Opportunity looms for Caribbean clubs
The opportunity for some of the Caribbean’s biggest clubs to move up in the Concacaf Club Rankings will be there for the taking next month in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup, starting on August 22. At present, Haitian club Violette is the highest-ranked Caribbean side at 71st overall thanks to their run to the quarterfinals of the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup in which they eliminated MLS side Austin FC in the Round of 16.
Cibao FC of the Dominican Republic, one of the 10 teams in the 2023 Caribbean Cup, come in at 84th overall. Jamaica’s Mount Pleasant and Haitian club Arcahaie sit next to each other at 102nd and 103rd, respectively, while not far behind in 105th overall is 1978 and 1985 Concacaf Champions Cup winners Defence Force of Trinidad and Tobago, who will also be participating in the 2023 Caribbean Cup.
Messi’s Inter Miami cooks up biggest upset
According to the Concacaf Club Rankings, the biggest upset came in Inter Miami’s 2-1 Leagues Cup triumph over Cruz Azul. 2022 FIFA World Cup champion and Argentina superstar Lionel Messi’s new club was ranked 41st when they took on Cruz Azul last Friday at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A last-minute strike from Messi in his Inter Miami debut handed the then-10th ranked Cruz Azul the defeat and earned Inter Miami six points in the Concacaf Club Rankings.
