After arguably its best-ever performance at the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) Beach Soccer Championships this year, The Bahamas senior men’s national team finds itself as high as it has ever been in the Beach Soccer Worldwide global rankings presented by IQONIQ, a new fan engagement platform which exclusively targets the “sport and entertainment” world.
The Bahamas is at number 32 in the global rankings, up 20 spots from the previous ranking, and is listed at number five in the CONCACAF region. All of this stems from a fantastic quarterfinal appearance at the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships in May of this year in San Rafael, Costa Rica.
The Bahamas was just 3:28 from pulling off the biggest upset of the tournament, and one of the biggest in the history of the championships, but couldn’t hold off a resilient Mexican team in the quarters. After scoring off the opening kick, adding another goal in the opening minute of the game, going up 3-0, and taking a 4-2 lead into the final third, The Bahamas fell victim to the powerful Mexicans as they surrendered two goals in the final third and the game went into extra time tied at four.
Mexico scored the go ahead with 1:40 to go in the extra session and The Bahamas failed to get an equalizer. It was the closest The Bahamas ever came to advancing to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships.
Despite missing out on that golden opportunity, the country climbed 20 spots in the latest global rankings.
It was a fabulous tournament for The Bahamas as the country showed significant improvement.
The Bahamas finished tied for fourth with Mexico and Costa Rica with 19 goals scored throughout the tournament. Also, team captain Lesley St. Fleur scored seven times in the tournament, finishing fourth in scoring this year. He has scored 41 goals in the tournament’s history that puts him at number three on the all-time list.
In the women’s rankings, The Bahamas senior women’s national squad is at number 18 in the world out of 19 countries currently ranked.
