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The United States Men’s National Team may not have won the 2019 Gold Cup, but their run to the final was good to elevate them in the latest release of the FIFA World Rankings. The USMNT rose to 22nd in the world, up 8 spots from June.
The USMNT beat Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Curaçao, and Jamaica to reach the Gold Cup final on July 7th, where they lost 1-0 to Mexico. Mexico rose 6 spots to 12th in the world, tops among CONCACAF teams. The two teams face each other again on September 6th at MetLife Stadium. The opponents for the USMNT in the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League, Canada and Cuba, sit at 78th and 179th respectively.
Brazil, who won the 2019 Copa América, rose one spot to 2nd in the world, just behind current #1 Belgium. The current top 10: Belgium, Brazil, France, England, Uruguay, Portugal, Croatia, Colombia, Spain, and Argentina. Algeria, the surprise 2019 Africa Cup of Nations winners, had the highest boost in the rankings, jumping 28 spots to 40th in the world. Burundi had the biggest freefall, dropping 14 spots to 148th.
Is the USMNT’s world ranking about where you thought they would be? Higher? Lower? Hit the comments and discuss.