USWNT Loses No. 1 Ranking Weeks After World Cup Ouster

The USWNT is coming off a disappointing performance in the Women’s World Cup, losing in the round of 16 for the team’s earliest ever loss in the tournament. Now, weeks after the loss to Sweden, the USWNT is still feeling its impact.

In the most recent FIFA women’s rankings, Sweden overtook the United States, dropping the USWNT out of the top spot for the first time since 2017. Additionally, World Cup champion Spain jumped the U.S. for the second spot, leaving the USWNT as the No. 3 team in the world and out of the top two for the first time since 2003.

By winning back-to-back in 2015 and 2019, the USWNT had been a dominant force on the national scale, but losses in the Olympics last year and the World Cup this year allowed other countries to catch up. Entering the World Cup, Sweden was ranked third and Spain ranked sixth, but their strong runs in the tournament helped them overtake the U.S.

England and France, meanwhile, stayed put at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, which is where they were entering the tournament over a month ago.

As a result of the USWNT’s disappointing summer, the team is looking for a new head coach after Vlatko Andonovski resigned from his position following the World Cup.