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U.S. reaches all-time high in FIFA rankings

VCC

Well-Known Member
FIFA rankings are bizarre. We have more right to be there then Mexico does though. As has been discussed on the forum before, don't worry about these rankings too much.
 

Jinn

Established Member
Yes, as the article says, it's based on results from the last 8 years. Current form and team strength count for little.
 

beanz

Well-Known Member
It's hardly worth the effort of compiling, if it does'nt reflect current form :? maybe the last 5 years would give a more accurate picture, thus taking in at least 1 world cup & all the other 4 yearly events. :mrgreen:
 

AFCG7

Established Member
Well the USA havent lost much games over the last 5 years.. the quality of the opposition is what makes their ranking a bit flawed.
They are a good fit side though.. and they did have a good WC recently..
improved a lot but to be that high in the world? i dont think so
 

USArsenal

H.Y.I.C.
well, if you think about it, we went one spot further in WC2002 than England did.... having said that, i do not believe they are a better team than England, Italy or Argentina....
 

VCC

Well-Known Member
I think everyone underestimates the quality of our opponents just because we play teams like Grenada. In the past few years we have played in Ireland, Italy, Germany, Poland, and Holland. We have played South American sides, including WC qualifiers Uruguay, Ecuador, and Brazil. And don't forget we played in the Confederations Cup last year.
 

VCC

Well-Known Member
Games we've played since the beginning of 2002:

Korea, Cuba, El Salvador, Canada, Costa Rica, Italy, Honduras, Ecuador, Germany, Mexico, Ireland, Uruguay, Jamaica, Netherlands, Portugal, Korea, Poland, Mexico, Germany, El Salvador, Canada, Argentina, Jamaica, Venezuela, Mexico, Wales, New Zealand, Turkey, Brazil, Cameroon, Paraguay, El Salvador, Martinique, Cuba, Brazil, Costa Rica, Denmark, Netherlands, Haiti, Poland, Mexico, Honduras, Grenada, Grenada

That's 44 games, 24 of which were against 2002 World Cup teams, and that doesn't include the two games against the Netherlands. All our games against "weak" CONCACAF teams have either been in WC qualifiers (Grenada) or the Gold Cup (Martinique, Cuba)
 

A.M.A.G.

Active Member
The United States' performance was very similar (but to a lesser extent) to what Greece pulled off. They are highly conditioned and organized. Talent wise, the United States' MLS is only comparable to the English first division, if that good. Man to man, from a talent perspective... its a joke to make comparisons between the U.S. and teams like England, Italy and Argentina. Beating up on Jamaica and Trinidad does not a good team make. Emerging as the dominant force in CONCACAF is one thing... but it was inevitable, based simply on financial resources and the talent pool. But the U.S. is by no stretch of the imagination an international footballing powerhouse.
That said... one day it will be... cause its on its way. "soccer" is steadily picking up momentum over here
 

VCC

Well-Known Member
Compare that to England's games in the same time period:

Netherlands, Italy, Paraguay, Korea, Cameroon, Sweden, Argentina, Nigeria, Denmark, Brazil, Portugal, Slovakia, Macedonia, Australia, Liechtenstein, Turkey, South Africa, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Croatia, Macedonia, Liechtenstein, Turkey, Denmark, Portugal, Sweden, Sweden, Japan, Iceland, France, Switzerland, Croatia, Portugal

That's 33 games, 22 of which are against 2002 WC teams.
 

VCC

Well-Known Member
Ok, here for those of you who think we have no quality opposition, is a list of the top 10 teams in the world according to FIFA, and the number of games they played against 2002 World Cup teams since January 1, 2002:

Brazil 27
USA 24
Turkey 23
England 22
France 17
Italy 17
Mexico 17
Spain 13
Netherlands 13
Czech Republic 9

I will say my numbers could be off by one or two because I was looking at fixtures and trying to remember the 32 WC teams from memory, but there you go.
 

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