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USA improves to No. 33 in FIFA Rankings

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photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

After months of stagnating, the U.S. men's national team is back on the rise in the FIFA rankings, although barely.

The United States improved one spot to No. 33 in the latest rankings after having spent the last three months at the No. 34 spot, which is now occupied by Peru. The Americans will get a chance to try and improve their standing when they take on Venezuela and Panama in friendlies later this month.

The top 10 teams stayed the same, with Spain sitting atop the rankings followed by the Netherlands, Germany, Uruguay, England, Brazil, Portugal, Croatia, Italy and Argentina.

Mexico remained the highest-ranked CONCACAF team at No. 21. Up two spots from last month, Panama is the third-best team from CONCACAF at 47. The fourth and fifth best-ranked CONCACAF nations are Honduras and Jamaica at 51 and 52, respectively.

What do you think of the latest rankings? Agree/disagree?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Why doesn’t Jozy put his hand over his heart during the national anthem? Even the military kids raised in Germany are doing it…

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  2. I am not sure but let me do it like this. India played against Myanmar and won but this was on a non-FIFA date. They then did the same thing against Myanmar, same scoreline, same rankings, same venue also but this was a FIFA match date. Needless to say the FIFA dated win counted more. I believe India gained like 10x more points then what they could have if both were on non-dates.

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  3. Well we did not have an in form Gooch. So I wonder if we had an inform Gooch and sat Findley on the bench. Started Buddle and Gomez comes on as a sub would it have been better ? I think so.

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  4. Right, FIFA agrees with you and that’s why Mexico is the highest ranked CONCACAF side. Keep in mind too that there is a 4 year “look back” window, so the last couple of years results arent the only ones factored in.

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  5. I wish we would play more teams that are closer to us in the rankings. I would love to see us play South Korea, Turkey, and Ghana. Why can we not get a game against Ghana in the US? I’m sure there are a bunch of US fans that would come out for a revenge match.

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  6. Concacaf does not have a single team in the top 15. I do agree with you that some individual players from Africa are having success. However, the number of African players in the top European leagues it has declined in the last year or two. Most of them are playing in France, which has a very good league, but definitely not in the top 3. There will be 11 African players missing from EPL teams due to the Africa Cup of Nations (some starters some reserves) and a total of 3 players from La Liga. There’s a similar number of Concacaf players in the EPL and La Liga: Chicharito, Dempsey, Kenwyne Jones, Salcido, Howard, Holden, Guzan, Freidel, Hoilett, Lichaj, Donovan (on loan)) Gio Dos Santos, Vela, Jonathan Dos Santos, Pablo Barrera, Guardado, etc. There is a definite decline in African footballin the last few years, which has been reflected in a number of players that play in the top leagues like EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga.

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  7. hahah. no. unlike tebow, i got laid BEFORE graduating from college. stopped focussing on defense and started getting creative on offense. still didn’t score with great frequency so stud ranking only increased marginally

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  8. Jozy Altidore stinks.

    If we let him go play for Haiti, we will jump up two spots automatically in the rankings.

    btw – Why doesn’t he know the US National Anthem? (or how to squat in a team photo?)

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  9. I have two comments…. we havent done much yet under Klinsmann so there’s no reason for any big moves

    Also, Mexico is way better than that. They are the team to beat in this region right now

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  10. yeah, the OP’s post is stupid given the White House just said they don’t support it and the bills were developed in Congress. in the end, I think both parties will reject it, with the GOP resisting the most.

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  11. Generally I’m sick of seeing people bitch and moan about SBI’s use of the “must see” headline, but this one made me chuckle.

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  12. Generally a lot compared to CONCACAF nations for example. Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast just to name a few have a lot of starters in the prem, Bundesliga, La Liga, Russian league, etc.

    I have to agree though that the national team are definitely struggling, but individual players are having a lot of success out of Africa.

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  13. I agree that England and Croatia do not belong in top ten, but I think you are too generous by suggesting that two African sides should be in the top 15, particularly considering the abysmal performance by the African nations in the last World Cup. African football is currently going through some tough times. Just check the EPL and La Liga rosters. How many players that represent African countries are starting for the top teams?

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  14. John.q. Yes, i know there’s such a thing as a veto overide. Learned that from School House Rock.

    My response was to “hmmm’s” dig on the president’s “america”. Couldn’t let it slide…even though this is not a political forum.

    I wasn’t expressing an opinion on SOPA either way.

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  15. “SOPA and PIPA are very dangerous…”
    I agree, the internet will become another TV wasteland if Rupert gets his way and they pass.

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  16. England won the right to be overrated when it won the World Cup in 1966. I’m pretty sure that’s how it worked.

    “Here, you win the World Cup, and we’ll make sure you’re overrated for the next 50 years or so.”

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  17. I get that friendlies count, but was wondering about friendlies on non-FIFA sanctioned dates, like the ones the US has coming up. I could imagine that FIFA might not count them because clubs aren’t required to release players for them. I imagine you are right, though, and that they do count.

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  18. A) This is a soccer website and a thread about FIFA rankings. Why is this topic even in discussion? We should be talking about how FIFA rankings are meaningless until it comes time to seed teams for the World Cup draw and how Klinsmann’s real test with the national team will be results come CONCACAF qualifying.

    B) SOPA has very little to do with copyright laws and much more to do with government and corporate control. Here, watch this for starters and then do some honest, independent research (which is something people should generally try to do BEFORE they adopt an opinion): http://vimeo.com/31100268

    This policy would have repercussions for all internet sites, including the one you’re posting on right now.

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  19. did you know that Congress does have power to override a presidential veto? i mean you know that.. right?

    no one is against copyright laws however the fine print of SOPA and PIPA are very dangerous. please take time to study a little bit!

    and i agree… isnt England always overrated?

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  20. You do know that the President intends to veto it if passed? I mean you know that..right?

    Oh, and by the way, how is England so high in the rankings? Don’t put much stock in these and i know there’s BSC-esk calculations behind this ..but #5?

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  21. Yes, friendlies count, but are weighted less. You can find this explained on the FIFA site rankings page via a link on the right side. Factors include the result (points scored), the ranking of the opponent, and the importance of the match (friendlies weigh less than FIFA tournaments). So a W in a friendly vs. Italy would count more than a W in a friendly vs. Monte Carlo.

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  22. If you were to look at MLS in terms of speed of growth and increase in quality since its founding, I don’t think you would have much to say against its progress.

    And your argument doesn’t really hold water, anyway. Brazil and Argentina, for instance, have national teams that are vastly superior to their domestic leagues. This is not an uncommon phenomenon.

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