Inter Miami vault into Top 10 of Concacaf Club Rankings

MIAMI, Florida – The latest edition of the Concacaf Club Rankings (CCR) is out, with 2022 FIFA World Cup winner Lionel Messi and Inter Miami vaulting into the Top 10 after their big 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 victory against Nashville SC

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.

Further detail explaining the rankings and how clubs earn points can be found here: Concacaf launches new ranking system for region’s clubs and leagues. 

Inter Miami vault into Top 10

One of the biggest movers since the last rankings were Inter Miami, who vaulted into the Top 10 for the first time ever after their 5-3 aggregate victory against Nashville SC in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16. Inter Miami skyrocketed eight spots up to eighth place.

Five-time Concacaf champions Monterrey remain in first place for a second straight time after defeating FC Cincinnati 1-0 and 2-1 in their Round of 16 Champions Cup series. Rayados also won another two matches in Liga MX.

Following Monterrey are three Liga MX sides who won their respective match-ups in the Champions Cup Round of 16: Club America, Tigres and Pachuca. Club America topped rivals Chivas 5-3, Tigres saw off Orlando City 4-2 and Pachuca defeated the Philadelphia Union 6-0.

2023 Champions Cup winners Club Leon are in fifth, followed in sixth-place by the first team from the United States, Columbus Crew, who climbed two places. Columbus eliminated the Houston Dynamo in the Champions Cup Round of 16.

Chivas are in seventh, followed by the aforementioned Inter Miami in eighth. Toluca bounced back up four spots to ninth, while the Philadelphia Union fell six spots to 10^th after their Champions Cup exit to Pachuca,

Olimpia re-take top spot in Central America

After falling out of first place in the last rankings, Honduran giants Olimpia are back in the top spot in the Central American region, rising three spots to place 39^th overall, two spots overall ahead of 41^st and Champions Cup quarterfinalists Herediano of Costa Rica.

Another two Costa Rican sides reside in third and fourth in Central America, with Saprissa at 45^th and Alajuelense at 49^th. Rounding out the Top 5 in Central America is Guatemala’s Comunicaciones at 52^nd overall.

Champions Cup results producing big movements

The results of the Champions Cup Round of 16 series yielded some big movements in the rankings. Among the winners benefitting the most were Inter Miami rising eight spots to eighth-place overall and the Columbus Crew hopping up two places from eighth to sixth overall to become the highest ranked team from the U.S.

The teams eliminated in the Round of 16 suffered falls in the rankings. The Philadelphia Union dropped six spots from fourth to 10^th, Nashville SC went from 14^th to 26^th, the Houston Dynamo are now 33^rd after being 23^rd last time out and Orlando City SC fell out of the Top 10 from ninth to 15^th.

Inter Miami register biggest upset

 Inter Miami achieved the biggest upset when they defeated fellow Major League Soccer (MLS) side Nashville SC 5-3 on aggregate. Prior to the two-legged series, Inter Miami were 19^th in the overall standings while Nashville SC were 14^th, a difference of five places.

Behind two goals and an assist from Messi and two goals and two assists from Luis Suarez, Inter Miami got the job done to advance to the quarterfinal round where they will face top-ranked Monterrey.