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FIFA confirms that the USMNT is the 11th best national team in the world

By David Moore June 29, 2023
Featured Image
Almost cracked the top 10!
Getty Images

Of all the men’s national soccer teams in the world, the United States has the 11th best according to the latest FIFA rankings.

This is the highest ranking for the U.S. since December 2021 when they were also 11th. August 2021 was the last time the USMNT were among the top 10.

The latest edition of the rankings that everyone definitely takes seriously and certainly doesn’t laugh at has the USMNT above the likes of Germany, Morocco, Switzerland and Uruguay.

USMNT FIFA Rankings

FIFA rankings consider each national team’s games over the past four years and use a formula that’s honestly just a headache to understand. All you really need to know is that teams are given and subtracted points depending on their recent results.

The last FIFA rankings came out in April. Since then the U.S. drew Mexico in the Continental Clasico and won the Concacaf Nations League. FIFA awarded the USMNT 19.57 points for this, which moved the Americans from 13th to 11th.

One big takeaway from the latest FIFA rankings is the reinforcement of what fans already know. Concacaf is weak. Ridiculously weak.

Other than Oceania, every other region in the world has at least three teams listed in the top 30 of the FIFA rankings. Only the U.S. and Mexico (15) crack the top 30 with the next closest team being Costa Rica at 39.

The Concacaf Nations League showed that the U.S. sits at the top of a shoddy throne. Getting good competition to prepare for the 2026 World Cup will be crucial for the USMNT over the next few years.

Thankfully, the USMNT will be competing in and hosting the 2024 Copa América.

Scheduling quality opponents isn’t easy when hosting the World Cup. The 2023 September international break is a perfect example of that — the best the USMNT could do was Uzbekistan (74) and Oman (73). All the other top teams across the world are playing qualifiers and don’t have time for friendlies.

The Concacaf Gold Cup concludes in July. The next real test for the USMNT will be October friendlies against Germany (14) and Ghana (60).

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