For the first time in the history of the FIFA women’s rankings, the U.S. women’s national team has dropped out of the top two.
The USWNT dropped from first to third in the newest edition of the rankings, which were released on Friday. Sweden, which eliminated the USWNT in the World Cup round of 16 and ultimately finished third, moved from third in the rankings to first.
Spain, the World Cup champion, moved from sixth to second.
The USWNT had been atop the FIFA world rankings for six years, having held the top spot since June 2017. Since FIFA introduced the rankings in 2003, the USWNT had always been in the top two.
The fallout from the USWNT’s World Cup failure has been swift. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski stepped down last week after four years at the helm, and was replaced by Twila Kilgore on an interim basis.
This week, USWNT captain Lindsey Horan made some eye-opening comments about the World Cup, stating her belief that the team wasn’t adequately set up to succeed, and hinting that the structural changes made for the Sweden mach were initialed by the players, rather than the coaches.
August 2023 FIFA women’s rankings
- Sweden
- Spain
- USA
- England
- France
- Germany
- Netherlands
- Japan
- Brazil
- Canada
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