Mexico comes in 9th and I change my tune… for now

After blazing a trail a victories through the last couple months, Mexico’s national team has punched through to the Top 10 in FIFA’s world rankings.  Vacillating between a meaningless ranking or a prestigious honor (largely dependent on where my team lies), today we’re squarely in the Hell Yeah camp.

Since the last time the rankings were published in May, Mexico jumped 19 points.

Here’s a little bit of history on Mexico, courtesy of FIFA:

• Best Move: +19 points woohoo
• Highest Position: 4th place (the latest in May 2006)
• Worst Position: 33rd place
• Where we spent most of the year: 27th place
• Overall average: 13th place

Frankly, the best part about these rankings is that Mexico’s ascendance pushed Argentina down.  It’s petty and nondescript.  But I like seeing Mexico above Argentina after how much they’ve wronged us.  Hello, goal-line technology.

And speaking of Argentina….

That’s a nice little segue into the Copa America that started late last week.  On paper it’s a tournament of the 10 CONMEBOL teams plus two invitees.  This year, it’s Mexico and Costa Rica.  Mexico — of course not one to join a party without a little scandal — is not considered a favorite.  And that’s because this tournament is like a mini World Cup.  Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and, yes, Argentina brought out their A games and A teams.  Slow start with 4 ties in the first matchups, but I fully expect this to rev up soon enough.

If my recommendation isn’t enough, Bleacher Report has five unimpeachable reasons to tune in this month.