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Team Mexico in shouting distance of FIFA Top 10

By Thomas Buckley

Jonathan dos Santos of Mexico kisses the Gold Cup trophy as Luis Montes looks on. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
Jonathan dos Santos of Mexico kisses the Gold Cup trophy as Luis Montes looks on. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images) /
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This summer’s Gold Cup triumph helped El Tri step over several soccer powers in official global rankings.

Mexico moved up six spots to No. 12 in the latest FIFA World Rankings on the back of its Gold Cup title run this summer. The U.S. national team – runner-up to El Tri in the Gold Cup – was an even bigger mover, climbing eight spots on the list to No. 22.

Team Mexico now sits just outside the Top 10 on the FIFA list of best national teams, slipping past Germany (15), Italy (16) and the Netherlands (17).

Gerardo Martino took over as Mexico’s coach in January (El Tri was ranked No. 17 in the world at the time) and is undefeated in 10 games at the helm. El Tri is 9-1-0 under “Tata,” with an impressive goal differential of +19 (29 goals for, 10 goals against).

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Mexico claims 8th Gold Cup trophy

El Tri swept to victory in the Gold Cup despite a hiccup in the quarterfinals against Costa Rica (1-1 draw, with El Tri advancing to the semifinals by winning the penalty kick shoot-out 5-4). A Jona dos Santos goal led Mexico to a 1-0 victory to Team USA in the final on July 7.

The new rankings were published on July 25, influenced by the Gold Cup, the Copa América, the 2020 European Championship qualifiers and the African Cup of Nations. Mexico climbed past Chile, Denmark and Sweden to reach No. 12, within a few points of No. 10 Argentina and only 1 point behind No. 11 Switzerland.

Mexico’s next games will take place during the September FIFA break in which “Tata” Martino will lead El Tri against his old team, Argentina, on Sept. 10. A few days earlier – on Sept. 6 – Mexico will play the United States in a friendly. The Argentina match will take place in San Antonio and the battle against Team USA is scheduled for Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

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