The U.S. women’s national team is back in first place. After a stellar Olympic run to break a 12-year gold medal drought, the U.S. women’s national team has regained first place in the updated FIFA ranking released on Friday.
The change comes after the U.S. spent months in its lowest ranking since the system was developed, with the team falling to third place after an early exit at the 2023 World Cup last summer. This year, they fell even further after a pair of unexpected losses, dropping to fourth in March and fifth in June.
Before last summer, the U.S. women’s national team had never finished lower than second since 2003, when FIFA’s ranking system for women’s soccer was established.
He #USWNT have returned to the top of the FIFA world rankings after the Olympic Games.
Also: The Wembley match is now the one between the two highest-ranked teams in the world. Spain is third. image.twitter.com/WXToKMmWz5
— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) August 16, 2024
Spain, who rose to first place this year after winning the World Cup last summer, fell to third after settling for fourth at the Olympics. England now sit second after Spain’s relegation, despite failing to qualify for the Olympics and having had mixed results in qualifying for Euro 2025.
France, which fell to eventual silver medallist Brazil in the Olympic quarter-finals, fell further in the rankings to No. 10 after coming into the Olympics in second place.
For the United States, the return to the top is a confidence boost as the team continues to usher in the Emma Hayes era.