Canada rises to 4th in FIFA women’s soccer ranking

Canadian-women's-soccer-team

Canada team poses for photos after winning the bronze medal in the women's Olympic football tournament. (Nelson Antoine/AP)

Canada has risen to fourth in the FIFA women’s soccer ranking on the strength of its bronze-medal performance at the Rio Olympics.

The Canadian team gained 93 ranking points and moved up six spots after beating host Brazil 2-1 in the third-place match to claim Olympic bronze for a second straight Games.

This is the first time that Canada have ever been in the top five, surpassing their previous high of seventh.

The United States retained top spot despite its quarter-final exit in Rio, followed by Olympic champion Germany and France.

Canada won five of its six matches at the Games, including a preliminary-round victory over Germany and a quarter-final win over France.

The 93-point gain set a record in the 13-year history of the ranking, surpassing the 87-point gain by Cameroon in July 2015 and the 80-point gain by Equatorial Guinea in December 2008.

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