MIAMI, Florida – The latest edition of the Concacaf Club Ranking is out, and the results of games throughout the Leagues Cup, Concacaf Central American Cup and Concacaf Caribbean Cup have shaken up the standings.
The Confederation launched a revamped rankings system earlier this year, with clubs gaining points for results in official domestic league matches, regional cup matches and Concacaf Champions Cup play.
The Concacaf Club Rankings will determine draw seedings for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. Further detail explaining the rankings and how clubs earn points can be found here: Concacaf launches new ranking system for region’s clubs and league
Monterrey remain in the top spot
Mexican giants and five-time Concacaf Champions Cup winners Monterrey are once again sitting atop the rankings. The last month has been fruitful for the Rayados, including a run to the semifinals of the Leagues Cup with victories against city rivals Tigres and reigning MLS Cup champions Los Angeles FC along the way. Monterrey have also returned to the win column in Liga MX play, downing Chivas to break a brief two-match losing streak.
Liga MX leads Top 10; Nashville moves up
The Top 10 clubs in the Concacaf Club Rankings remain Liga MX-heavy at the top, with Club America, Tigres, Club Leon and Toluca rounding out the top five.
The first MLS side to appear in the Top 10 is Leagues Cup Third-Place finishers the Philadelphia Union, who have six points from their last three matches and sit in fourth in the MLS Eastern Conference.
Trailing the Union are Liga MX sides Chivas and Pachuca, but in ninth there is a new face in the form of Nashville SC. Thanks to their runner-up finish in the Leagues Cup, the MLS side jumped up five spots to ninth in the rankings. Rounding out the top 10 is another Liga MX side, Atlas.
One interesting note about the latest CCR Top 10 is that eight of the 10 clubs are already qualified for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup: Monterrey, Club America, Tigres, Toluca, Philadelphia Union, Chivas, Pachuca and Nashville SC.
Inter Miami, Real Esteli among the biggest movers
Over the last month and change no team has improved their position more in the rankings than Inter Miami, rising 29 places to 12th. It is no mystery that the arrival of Argentina superstar Lionel Messi and Spanish internationals Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, has played a huge part in the team’s to this improvement. Messi finished as the Leagues Cup top scorer with 10 goals to help Lead Inter Miami to the title. Inter Miami have also reached the Final of the U.S. Open Cup and have seven points from three matches since the return to MLS play.
Nicaraguan club Real Esteli are also a big riser, moving up 15 spots to 99th thanks to three straight wins to open their 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup campaign, clinching a quarterfinal berth along the way. Universitario of Panama (+15), Moca of the Dominican Republic (+11) and Liberia of Costa Rica (+10) round out the top five highest risers.
Saprissa, Alajuelense edge closer to Olimpia
The previous CCR saw Honduran giants Olimpia stand the tallest among their Central American peers, but now hot on their trail are Costa Rican clubs Saprissa and Alajuelense. Olimpia’s Central American Cup group stage exit resulted in a drop of three spots to 42nd, while Saprissa and Alajuelense’s perfect group campaigns lifted each, respectively, by two points and five points to 45th and 46th.
Two other clubs that marched into the knockout stage of the Central American Cup with authority round out the rest of the Central American top five, with Guatemala’s Comunicaciones coming in at 50th and Motagua of Honduras holding steady at 52nd.
Jostling continues among Caribbean clubs
The start of the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup has led to some movement among the top five in the Caribbean. 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinalists Violette of Haiti are still at the top in 70th place, but a 1-0 defeat to Suriname’s Robinhood resulted in a drop of 12 places for Cibao FC of the Dominican Republic to 96th. Jamaica’s Mount Pleasant checks in at 102nd for a second staright time, while Trinidad and Tobago club Defence Force, who picked up four points from their first two Caribbean Cup matches, catapulted up two spots to 103rd, followed by Haitian club Arcahaie in 104th.
Inter Miami, Real Esteli provide biggest upsets
According to the CCR, the two biggest upsets to have occurred since the previous rankings were Inter Miami’s commanding 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Union in the Leagues Cup semifinals. Ranked 26th at the time, Inter Miami defeated the sixth-ranked Union.
Another major upset in the CCR was 106th-ranked Real Esteli topping 2022 Concacaf League winners and 41st-ranked Olimpia, 1-0. The Nicaraguan club made history by winning their first three matches in a Concacaf competition, a feat that qualified them for the Central American Cup quarterfinals and pushed them to within a victory of a berth in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup.
