U.S. men drop one spot to 32nd in FIFA world rankings
The United States fell one more spot in the latest FIFA world rankings, slipping to 32nd just below Ukraine and one place ahead of Russia. The U.S. hasn't played a match since the last rankings when the Americans fell four spots to No. 31, its lowest rating since Jurgen Klinsmann took over for Bob Bradley in 2011, but FIFA has committed itself to releasing these rankings every month. So something had to change.
Apparently, there were enough international friendlies to create some fluctuation. FIFA also attributed the changes to "a direct result of devaluation of past results." So, yes Klinsmann critics, the U.S.'s string of disappointing results that ended 2014 were a possible factor for the new No. 32 ranking.
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UPDATE: CONCACAF provided some big news – the release of the Gold Cup schedule. The U.S. will open Group A play against the winner of the Honduras vs. French Guyana playoff on July 7 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The Americans then face Haiti on July 10 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., and play their group finale against Panama on July 13 at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.
Now, back to the rankings …
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The big ranking news, or at least the headline trumpeted by FIFA, is the return to the top 10 by Italy, which bumped Spain down one place to take over the 10th spot. The top nine remains unchanged with world champion Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium and the Netherlands making up the top five.
The really big FIFA news, though, is that qualifying for the 2018 World Cup is under way. Believe it or not, qualifiers in Asia began Thursday in places like Timor-Leste and Sri Lanka.
Klinsmann's men don't play again until March 25 when they travel to Europe to face Denmark, currently ranked 28th in the world. Six days later, they meet No. 11 Switzerland in Zurich.
Here's a look at the U.S.'s current neighborhood in FIFA's rankings:
