The U.S. Men’s National team fell out of the top 10 in the newest FIFA world rankings, released Thursday.
The Americans fell from No. 10 to 13 after tying with El Salvador and Canada before beating Honduras in the first 2022 World Cup qualifying window.
Belgium remains No. 1 in the rankings, followed by Brazil, England, France and Italy. Rounding out the top 10 are Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Mexico and Denmark.
The 2022 World Cup is set to be played Nov. 21-Dec. 18, with Qatar as the host nation.
The rankings came out the same day the Los Angeles World Cup Host Committee released its official bid video for the 2026 World Cup. In a joint bid, the U.S., Canada and Mexico already have been chosen to host the Cup. Now, FIFA is in the process of selecting the 16 host cities from 22 applicants.
The video was narrated by Los Angeles icon Vin Scully with appearances by actor Will Ferrell, owner of LAFC, and retired player Cobi Jones.
“When I think of soccer and L.A., I think of the ’94 World Cup. I think of the Women’s World Cup in ’99 — 100,000 screaming fans at the Rose Bowl. I think of all the great players who have come through Los Angeles — Zlatan (Ibrahimovic), (David) Beckham, Landon Donovan, Carlos Vela,” Ferrell said, making the case for Los Angeles to host a significant number of games in 2026.
“I want my kids to experience what I was able to experience with Olympic soccer here, World Cup soccer here,” said Jones, a three-time World Cup participant and Soccer Hall of Fame Inductee. “We are a soccer city. We are L.A. There’s no better place in the United States to have World Cup matches.”
–Field Level Media
