The longest-ever men's international break saw plenty of twists and turns, but there's not a huge amount of movement in our Concacaf power rankings – other than a change at the top.
Many of the teams who came out of the summer feeling confident about their futures showed fans why they'll be the class of North America, Central America and Caribbean – though a few teams struggled and fell out of the rankings.
Here are our Concacaf Power Rankings after the September-October window and heading into November's Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals and other crucial official games as smaller teams jockey for Gold Cup positioning.
First five out: Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba, Martinique
10. Dominican Republic
- Previous rank: NR
- Last matches: Beat Nicaragua 3-2, beat Trinidad & Tobago 2-1, lost to Haiti 4-1, beat Nicaragua 2-1
- Next matches: Gold Cup prelims
The DR was the biggest riser in the FIFA rankings and also
makes it into our rankings for the first time. The loss to Haiti – at home but in front of a crowd mostly made up of supporters of Les Grenadiers - showed there's still work to do, but the DR was in the hunt for a CNL quarterfinal spot until the very last and may have been able to secure it were so many key players not suspended or injured on the final day against Nicaragua.
Being a top-10 team is something the DR has been working toward for a while, with its shock qualification for the 2024 Olympics and a place in the 2025 Gold Cup bearing fruit. Getting Mariano Diaz in the shirt and committed didn't hurt, either.
The Alaves forward had a goal and an assist in each of his first two official matches for the Quisqueyanos.
9. Suriname
- Previous rank: 9
- Last matches: Beat Honduras 3-2, beat Martinique 2-1, drew Guatemala 0-0, lost to Guatemala 1-0
- Next matches: Gold Cup prelims
The Green Guardians keep their place in our rankings even after missing out on the Nations League quarterfinals. Not securing a final eight spot could be seen as regression. After all, Suriname was in that round last time around. This time, their performances were impressive, but the home draw with Guatemala and the late goal from the Chapines (in peculiar circumstances after the team went down to 10 men because of a player's reaction to racist abuse) meant they would fall just short.
The challenge now is to kick on from this spot. Suriname just missed the quarterfinal, just like it just missed the 2026 World Cup. Is there a player or two who could join up and push the Natio over the hump? Or could simply finding more consistency be enough to start reaching the goals being set?
8. Guatemala
- Previous rank: NR
- Last matches: Lost to Jamaica 3-2, beat El Salvador 6-0, drew Suriname 0-0, beat Suriname 1-0
- Next matches: Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals vs. Canada
Things weren't looking good for Guatemala. It opened the window with a 3-2 loss to Jamaica in the opening match of the CNL group stage – a fifth straight defeat suffered in 2026. Then, attacker Oscar Santis, who scored both goals against the Reggae Boyz was injured against El Salvador. But not only did Guatemala finish off El Salvador in a 6-0 beatdown, getting a hat trick from William Fajardo plus contributions from Darwin Lom, Olger Escobar and Rubio Rubin, it then had the defensive solidity to keep Suriname from scoring over 120 minutes.
The results totally changed the mood around Luis Fernando Tena's team, though there's still plenty to do for Guatemala to keep the form it showed in the 2025 Gold Cup and in this tournament but that largely was missing in World Cup qualification and after.
7. Jamaica
- Previous rank: 7
- Last matches: Beat Guatemala 3-2, lost to Honduras 1-0, beat El Salvador 2-0, drew with Honduras 1-1
- Next matches: Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals vs. Mexico
Jamaica must find a way for this to not be the classic Reggae Boyz window: A hard-fought win, a loss they shouldn't have dropped, then vindication and sneaking into the next round of the tournament they're trying to reach.
LASK defender Miguel Freckleton had an impressive debut, setting up for a fearsome left side with Ronaldo Webster even when Leon Bailey is struggling with injuries, or a great competition if Freckleton and Webster both are asked to play left back. The central forward depth somewhat held up, even after QPR ace Rumarn Burrell was injured, with former Saprissa Javon East feeling at home in Central America and scoring both goals in the win over El Salvador.
But there were nervous moments in Honduras, when Jamaica went from topping the group to nearly missing the quarterfinals. Job done – for now.
6. Curacao
- Previous rank: 6
- Last matches: Beat Costa Rica 4-3, beat Nicaragua 6-1, beat Trinidad & Tobago 1-0, drew with Trinidad and Tobago 1-1
- Next matches: Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals vs. Panama
Things didn't start off well for the Blue Wave, even with Dick Advocaat back on the bench. The veteran manager had to give his first halftime talk since the World Cup down 3-0 in Costa Rica. Whatever he said worked, and so did the changes he made as Curacao rallied to a 4-3 victory over the Ticos.
From there, the good vibes were back. Curacao waltzed to CNL quarterfinals qualification, avoiding defeat and allowing only two more goals the rest of the window – one in a 6-1 dismantling of Nicaragua and one in a 1-1 draw with Trinidad and Tobago that Curacao entered confident it would move on. Those performances earned a quarterfinal shot against the most vulnerable top four seed – with a Gold Cup place and a potential surprise slot in the Final Four on the line in November.
5. Haiti
- Previous rank: 5
- Last matches: Beat Trinidad and Tobago 3-2, beat Costa Rica 2-0, beat Dominican Republic 4-1, lost to Costa Rica 2-0
- Next matches: Concacaf Nations quarterfinals vs. United States
It was the start of a new era for Haiti, with David Badia taking over as manager and leaving many of the heroes who helped Haiti qualify for its first World Cup in nearly 50 years at home. Yet, the same energy was still there, and Les Grenadiers hit their stride in front of a pro-Haiti crowd in the Dominican Republic, getting a 4-1 victory over their neighbors in a match played as close to Haiti as many of the squad has ever been.
The loss in Costa Rica blemished the window, but Haiti gave its fans hope that it will be as relevant this cycle as it was in the last one. It has a chance to really shock the world against the U.S. next month.
4. Panama
- Previous rank: 4
- Last matches: Drew with India 1-1, drew with New Zealand 1-1 (lost penalty shootout), drew with Ecuador 1-1 (won penalty shootout)
- Next matches: Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals vs. Curacao
Panama always seems to be doing its own thing – stuck in purgatory for being better than their Central American and Caribbean rivals but not good enough to crash the party of whatever the North American teams are doing. So, it was an Asian tour for Thomas Christiansen in this window, one that had mixed results.
Even with an experimental side, Panama fans would've liked to see something more comprehensive against India, and probably against New Zealand and Ecuador, too. They have a fight on their hands with Curacao in the CNL quarters.
3. Canada
- Previous rank: 3
- Last matches: Beat Chile 1-0, beat Peru 2-0, lost to USA 1-0
- Next matches: Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals vs. Guatemala
Canada will certainly have eyes on the No. 2 spot after a solid window, but one that ended in defeat to a rival. Without captain Alphonso Davies, and with the injury bug again biting as center back Derek Cornelius went down in a training session, Canada still showed well.
Having one more match to evaluate would've been nice – not just for power rankers but for manager Jesse Marsch, especially as the real test for this Canada team will come at Nations League and at the Gold Cup.
2. Mexico
- Previous rank: 1
- Last matches: Drew with Colombia 1-1, drew with Peru 1-1, lost to USA 3-0, lost to Chile 2-0
- Next matches: Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals vs. Jamaica
That's not how any Mexico fan imagined it.
Rafa Marquez was supposed to do what Javier Aguirre did and get good results with Mexico but he was supposed to do it in a way that was more exciting. Take the pragmatism of his predecessor and, backed by his reputation, make this team one that wins with flair.
That might still come, but Mexico couldn't win any of its first four matches. After Gilberto Mora's great goal in the first match of the window, he didn't play again because of n ankle issue, exposing just how dependent this El Tri team is on a 17-year-old – plus a few other players like winger Julian Quiñones and forward Raul Jimenez who also weren't part of this camp.
1. United States
- Previous rank: 2
- Last matches: Beat Peru 4-1, beat Chile 4-2, beat Mexico 3-0, beat Canada 1-0
- Next matches: Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals vs. Haiti
What else can you ask for from a four-match window? If you were bothered by slip-ups at the back in the first two matches, those got cleaned up. Worried about leaning too much on youth? Turns out the kids are all right. More than all right. Julian Hall, Cavan Sullivan, Justin Ellis, Neil Pierre and even the young goalkeepers made the most of the opportunities they had.
While the U.S. didn't dominate previous No. 1 Mexico from start to finish, the way they were able to sustain pressure after the opening goal was impressive and helps the Stars and Stripes jump El Tri to claim the top spot.
The quarterfinal presents a tough opponent, but if manager Mauricio Pochettino can blend the exciting young players who showed out this window with the skilled veterans who are expected to rejoin in November, the U.S. can start thinking about taking actual trophies back from Mexico and not just earning the title of top dog in the power rankings.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Concacaf power rankings: There's a new No. 1 after September-October matches
