For the first time in three months, the U.S. men's national team is on the way up in the FIFA rankings.
The United States moved up one spot to No. 28 in the latest FIFA rankings after three games that saw them top Scotland, lose to Brazil and tie Canada. The Americans can further improve their chances of rising in the standings in the next week, as a pair of World Cup qualifiers loom large.
As far as other CONCACAF teams go, Mexico is the cream of the crop after moving up one place to No. 19. The U.S. team's opening World Cup qualifying opponent, Antigua and Barbuda, is currently at 105.
There was also movement in the top ten, with Uruguay surpassing Germany for the No. 2 spot behind Spain. The Netherlands remain at No. 4, while Brazil has moved up to round out the top five. England, Argentina, Croatia, Denmark and Portugal follow in that order.
I agree Adu scares the sh.. out opposing players. I would also include F. Johnson and Joe Guay to the list. BTW all you Adu haters are idiots.
Croatia, Netherlands, sometimes-to-fairly-regularly England, Australia, probably Greece, soon, and Ireland, regularly.
He was tearing Salcido up in the first 25 mins, yes Torres nilo nullified him after that but Torres Nilo didnt attack up front either. Im saying Adu is one of few players who scares the opposing team, most of our players either pass back or dont have the guts to take them 1v1. Adu on the other hand does take you on 1v1, and as the defender you cant gamble with him cuz he will burn you, and Adu has the ability to make that killer pass, that killer through ball. He is our Gio do Santos, obviously not that good but he is the playmaker we need. I know all you guys say he doesnt play good with Philly or he doesnt track back, tell me how many #10 players track back? Does Messi, Robben, Christiano, Gio do Santos play defense? Noo, their focus is to attack and that could always be a work in progress. I know its good to be in form at your club but they are always players who arent playing for their clubs regularly, or sitting on the bench, or in bad form. It doesnt mean you cant perform for your National Team. Gio do Santos doesnt play for Tottenham but he still makes an impact, same goes for Chicharito, or Pablo Barrera, they dont play with their clubs but their skilled players, their one of a kind players just like Freddy Adu. Adu has that bit of skill the USMNT lacks. I hope he finds better form at Philly so he come back to the USMNT, and no im not on the hype juice, I just know he is a unique talent.
He was tearing Salcido up in the first 25 mins, yes Torres nilo nullified him after that but Torres Nilo didnt attack up front either. Im saying Adu is one of few players who scares the opposing team, most of our players either pass back or dont have the guts to take them 1v1. Adu on the other hand does take you on 1v1, and as the defender you cant gamble with him cuz he will burn you, and Adu has the ability to make that killer pass, that killer through ball. He is our Gio do Santos, obviously not that good but he is the playmaker we need. I know all you guys say he doesnt play good with Philly or he doesnt track back, tell me how many #10 players track back? Does Messi, Robben, Christiano, Gio do Santos play defense? Noo, their focus is to attack and that could always be a work in progress. I know its good to be in form at your club but they are always players who arent playing for their clubs regularly, or sitting on the bench, or in bad form. It doesnt mean you cant perform for your National Team. Gio do Santos doesnt play for Tottenham but he still makes an impact, same goes for Chicharito, or Pablo Barrera, they dont play with their clubs but their skilled players, their one of a kind players just like Freddy Adu. Adu has that bit of skill the USMNT lacks. I hope he finds better form at Philly so he come back to the USMNT, and no im not on the hype juice, I just know he is a unique talent.
He was tearing Salcido up in the first 25 mins, yes Torres nilo nullified him after that but Torres Nilo didnt attack up front either. Im saying Adu is one of few players who scares the opposing team, most of our players either pass back or dont have the guts to take them 1v1. Adu on the other hand does take you on 1v1, and as the defender you cant gamble with him cuz he will burn you, and Adu has the ability to make that killer pass, that killer through ball. He is our Gio do Santos, obviously not that good but he is the playmaker we need. I know all you guys say he doesnt play good with Philly or he doesnt track back, tell me how many #10 players track back? Does Messi, Robben, Christiano, Gio do Santos play defense? Noo, their focus is to attack and that could always be a work in progress. I know its good to be in form at your club but they are always players who arent playing for their clubs regularly, or sitting on the bench, or in bad form. It doesnt mean you cant perform for your National Team. Gio do Santos doesnt play for Tottenham but he still makes an impact, same goes for Chicharito, or Pablo Barrera, they dont play with their clubs but their skilled players, their one of a kind players just like Freddy Adu. Adu has that bit of skill the USMNT lacks. I hope he finds better form at Philly so he come back to the USMNT, and no im not on the hype juice, I just know he is a unique talent.
Almost, putting stars on Howard’s jersey would help. but the shirts seem to have only 12 stripes, can’t Nike count? Of course with 2 rows of players, the jerseys would need 6.5 stripes, probably beyond Nike’s talents (they couldn’t even put on numbers that were readable on TV).
I didn’t discuss Donavon. At least in some games Donavon is involved, reads the game well and helps out defensively when it is appropriate, but in others he plays like he is scared.
In fairness, every player has stretches where the make a series of poor decisions and fail to get involved as much as they should.
It is just when players fail to do what teammates expect and will not battle to help teammates that coaches and players begin to doubt them. For example, J. Jones and M. Bradley seldom fail to show up where they are expected and few would question their commitment to helping their teammates.
Oh and for Donovan he is what he is. Remember we want him to go to Everton lol Everton. What top 15-20 national team has a starter on Everton?
Lol guys we have to look at it the way it is, we aren’t going to crack the top 15 anytime soon. Europe’s best plus South America’s will have us outside the top 15 for awhile. That doesn’t mean we can’t compete but it is what it is. Plus teams like Japan and Mexico lurking just outside the top 20 its only going to get harder not easier. Until we as a country commit to making soccer a priority like we do all other sports, top 30 is the best we can do for now.
THIS SUCKS!!, 28th, wow that´s super…
AMERIKKA, F*CK YEAH! We’re #28!
Ha. That’s great. They should fix his kit up with some white stars.
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
Chicken.
El Tri will be top ten by December, and USA around #20.
If you put Tim Howard in a blue kit, and had him stand on the far left of the back row, the whole squad would look like a flag.
That is a fine squat by gomez. My post picture rating is a 10.
Donovan needs to go. Adu seriously are you still drinking the Hype juice. How is UNION doing this year has he made them a decent team? Oh yeah they are only better than TORONTO FC.
Adu looks like mole poking out of a hole
Donovan is a coward
Shea rhymes with Gay
They would be better if they could drop a Messi into our lineup. Maybe if they could ad an Ozil and a Serg Ramos we would totally be so way super good i bet…
Donovan hardly plays intelligently at all times and is often a ghost out there on the wing for long stretches of games… why does he get a pass??
Until Adu can show coaches (any coach) that he can play intelligently all the time instead of just showing little moments of brilliance, he will never find a full-time starting role at a high level of play. Every coach and team he has played for at the professional level has found that his little moments are not enough to justify his lack of tactical awareness. Simply put, he does not show well for teammates enough of the time, he decides to dribble when a smarter move is to pass, he too often fails to defend when he loses possession (and hardly ever if someone else loses possession). All those things imply that either he is lazy or that his brain can’t process what is obvious to others.
But, yes he is fun to watch in highlight clips and can pull off little plays that many others cannot, if only … Sigh!
You need a new hobby. Squat-spotting is getting old…
What did Adu “do” to Mexico in the GC final?
He was nullified after Jorge Torres Nilo came on for an injured Salcido. Nilo is the same guy that put Hulk in his back pocket on sunday.
Exactly, I would love Freddy Adu in the lineup with Dempsey, Donavon, and Altidore. Adu is the only player with that skill and dribble we need, and he is a very good passer as well. I know their is a lot of haters of him out their but he is the only type of player that scares the defense with his skill, just like what he did to Mexico in the Gold Cup. He should play behind Altidore 4-4-1-1 with Bradley and Jones in the middle and Dempsey and Donavan in the wings.
This post was incredibly tough to read.
Generally, I respect everyones opinion but I simply can’t begin to comprehend yours.
Sorry.
Bingo
“Because individual talent equates to success!”
-England National Team
mid/winger? Donovan?
i agree we need another; calling Brek Shea!
Exactly, I would love Freddy Adu in the lineup with Dempsey, Donavon, and Altidore. Adu is the only player with that skill and dribble we need, and he is a very good passer as well. I know their is a lot of haters of him out their but he is the only type of player that scares the defense with his skill, just like what he did to Mexico in the Gold Cup. He should play behind Altidore 4-4-1-1 with Bradley and Jones in the middle and Dempsey and Donavan in the wings.
Mexico has some serious talent and some of it doesn’t even get good playing time like Hernadez and Dos Santos. That’s what the US is missing the most in my opinion a attacking mid/winger that creates havoc. If you drop a Dos Santos into the US lineup we are deadly. The US are solid but we have no attacking bit that you need to over come a well organized defence.
“Jones doesn’t consistently make accurate passes, while Bradley is one of only a few Americans with the ability to unlock defenses with incisive passes.”
Until very recently I’d disagree–Jones’ passing *had been* displaying higher peaks (if lower averages) than MB90’s… But Mikey has absolutely grown and lately shown some really impressive surgical strikes.
Mexico has an all-time ranking of 14 in FIFA World Cups. The US is ranked 26. I would currently probably rank Mexico closer to that 14 than to 19. I think 26 is fair for the US.
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/southafrica2010/statistics/pastworldcup/index.html
Question: I don’t understand why anyone would play Jermaine Jones as an attacking midfielder instead of Michael Bradley. Why would that be Klinsmann’s lineup? Jones doesn’t consistently make accurate passes, while Bradley is one of only a few Americans with the ability to unlock defenses with incisive passes.
Mexico is a lock to make the final 16 in every World Cup. Put them at 19th.
Agreed. Not sure why Mexico are so low….
…wait, I know. They aren’t in UEFA.
They felt sorry for us. Losing 4-1 to Brazil at home, then seeing Mexico beat the same team 2-0, also at home.
+1 (not a Mexican fan here at all) but Mexico should be in the top 10 as of today
The U.S. is probably where they should be at this point, especially after defeating Italy in Italy.
Not even close to top 15. Mexico is right where they should be 19-25.
WoW! Bring out the champagne.
Mexico is definitely top 15 but not sure about top 10.
+1
If England is ranked 6th, surely Mexico belongs in the top 10.
As talented as they are on paper they haven’t really gotten many results the past few years. Now the team is very young and I think that will change with this coming World Cup cycle, but I don’t really think they have a case to be higher at the moment.
I think most informed soccer fan/coaches/players know how good Belgium is and will be in the next few years if they put it all together.
Belgium is 54. How on earth? Someone should be fired. They’re behind Iran.
The jersey numbers are still too light and grey for me to discern during a match (albeit I have one of those big-box, small-screen TVs from last century). Why they can’t just match the navy blue of the shorts or the collar, I have no idea.
Gomez needs to squat even higher if he wants to keep Jozy’s spot in the pic.