The U.S. women's national team is back at number one. After going on a stellar Olympic run to break a 12-year gold medal drought, the USWNT has retaken the top slot in updated FIFA rankings released on Friday.
The change comes after the U.S. spent months at its lowest rankings since the system was developed, with the team dropping to third after an early exit at the 2023 World Cup last summer. This year, they dipped even further after a couple of upset losses, falling to fourth in March and fifth in June.
Prior to last summer, the USWNT had never been lower than second since 2003, when the FIFA rankings system was established for women's soccer.
The #USWNT have returned to the top of the FIFA World Rankings following the Olympics.
— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) August 16, 2024
Plus: The Wembley game is now the top two ranked teams in the world. Spain into third. pic.twitter.com/WXToKMmWz5
Spain, who rose to No. 1 this year after winning the World Cup last summer, dropped to No. 3 after settling for fourth place at the Olympics. England is now in the No. 2 spot after Spain dropped, despite not making the Olympics and having mixed results in UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying.
France, who fell to eventual silver medalists Brazil in the Olympic quarterfinals, fell the further in the rankings, dropping to No. 10 after heading into the Olympics in the second spot.
For the United States, the return to the top is a confidence boost as the team continues to usher in the Emma Hayes era.
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