USWNT drops to historic low in FIFA rankings after World Cup flop, Sweden takes No. 1 spot
Another streak is over for the U.S. women's national team.
The USWNT's early exit at the World Cup dropped the squad to No. 3 in the FIFA rankings released Friday, the first time since June 2017 the U.S. isn't atop the list. The Americans, who won two of their four World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019, had spent all but 10 months at No. 1 since 2008.
It's also the USWNT's lowest-ever ranking. The USWNT had been either No. 1 or No. 2 since the rankings began in 2003.
Sweden, which eliminated the USWNT on penalty kicks in the round of 16, is the new No. 1 team. Spain, which beat England to win its first World Cup title, is No. 2. England and France round out the top five.
The USWNT trails Spain by a mere 0.63 points in the rankings, and is less than 18 points behind Sweden. With two games against South Africa next month and another two games in October, the Americans could move back into their usual territory before the next rankings are released in December.
But they'll have to perform better than they did at the World Cup.
The USWNT made its earliest exit ever at a World Cup or an Olympics at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, which ended Sunday. It was the first time the four-time champions had failed to reach the semifinals at a World Cup, and only the second time they left a major international tournament without a medal of some color.
The sub-par performance has already resulted in the departure of Vlatko Andonovski, who was the first USWNT coach to leave multiple major international tournaments without winning a title. The Americans won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USWNT loses No. 1 FIFA ranking, falls behind Sweden and No. 2 Spain
