USWNT Falls To Its Lowest World Ranking Ever, New Manager Says Teams No Longer Fear The USA

The United States women's national soccer team has fallen to fifth in the latest FIFA rankings, which is the team's worst world ranking since FIFA began ranking women's teams in 2003.

The USWNT held the No. 4 ranking in the world in March, but prior to 2024, the team had never been ranked worse than second. The team has dropped three places in the world ranking in just six months, which for a once powerhouse squad, is an eye-opening development. The USWNT held the top spot in the world rankings between 2008 and 2014 and again from 2017 to June 2023.

Spain, winners of the 2023 Women's World Cup, is the No. 1 women's team in soccer, followed by France, England, and Germany, in that order.

The fall in the rankings shouldn't necessarily come as a shock given the team's historic exit from the 2023 World Cup. The USWNT did not win its group during the tournament and was bounced in the first knockout round by Sweden.

The USWNT has reached an all-time low in the FIFA World Rankings. (Photo by Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

The team is now being managed by former Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, who will make her debut on the sideline during the Paris Olympics next month. Hayes, who is from England, is bringing a new and honest mindset to the group as the new reality that the USWNT is not the feared powerhouse it used to be for so many years.

READ: USWNT Manager Emma Hayes Shoves Opposing Coach Then Complains About Their 'Male Aggression'

"If we can perform at our best level, then we have a chance of doing things," Hayes said last month. "But we've got work to do. The realities are that the world game is where it is, and the rest of the world do not fear the USA in the way that they once did, and that's valid."

The USWNT will have friendlies against Mexico and Costa Rica on July 13 and 16 to tune up for the trip to Paris where it will be looking for a gold medal for the first time since 2012.