FIFA Women's World updated Rankings just came out. FIFA has plenty of drama and intrigue wrapped up in all of its shenanigans, but this version is so different from how the CFB rankings work that it's worth pointing out. To recap: England just won the Euros, the U.S. won the gold in the Olympics (beating Brazil), and Spain won the World Cup in 2023--two years ago.
And the rankings are:
1) Spain
2) U.S.
3) Sweden
4) England
5) Germany
6) France
7) Brazil
8) Japan
9) Canada
10) North Korea
Breaking that down: Spain hasn't won a tournament in two years, but played well in the Euros. To the eyeball test, they were the best team, but they couldn't beat England when it counted. They also lost in the semifinals of the Olympics.
The U.S. didn't even make the quarterfinals of the World Cup, but winning the Olympics is a big deal, and they passed the eye test in that tournament..., but their attack is almost completely new since then.
Sweden!?! Sweden didn't qualify for the Olympics, lost in the Euros quarterfinal (on PKs to winner, England), lost in the semis of the World Cup, and hasn't won a major title since the first women's euros in 1984.
England just won the last major tournament. How are they 4th, behind two teams that they beat? Don't wins matter? They haven't lost to the U.S. since 2020. While England didn't qualify for the Olympics, they did come in second at the World Cup.
Germany...someone has to go here, and Germany made the semifinals of the Euros and the Olympics (taking 3rd, over Spain) in the latter. Germany didn't get out of the group stage in the World Cup.
What about Brazil? Brazil won its last major tournament (just last week), came in second at the Olympics, beat the U.S. the last time they played (in a friendly--split the series).
And let's talk North Korea for a second. This is one of the baffling things in international sport: how is North Korea any good at women's football? And is it, really? Their wins and losses suggest--at least to me--that this ranking is built on smoke and mirrors. North Korea feels like the Indiana of this group...
