The USMNT is ranked 15th in the latest FIFA World Rankings. Switzerland, ranked 19th, spanked us 4-0 a few weeks ago, so I know these rankings don’t always make sense and are mocked by many, but it does provide a general sense of the quality of the opponent.
The September window sees us playing two other top 25 teams, South Korea (23rd) on September 6th, and Japan (17th) on September 10th. Japan dominated us in 2022 in the sendoff to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The 0-2 scoreline was generous as they had 15 shots (8 on goal) to our 4 shots (zero on goal). In that case, it was an accurate indicator of our struggles in the subsequent World Cup. It will be interesting to see if we’ve improved or regressed since then, as well as how we do versus South Korea.
The crucial November window is rumored to be against two South American opponents. With 5 of the top 25 being South American teams (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, and Ecuador), any 2 of those 5 would be a great, strenuous test for the developing Yanks.
Expect the September window to be a reintegration of multiple top-tier players (Pulisic, Jedi, McKennie, Weah, Musah, Pepi, Balogun, Dest, etc), and the November window the first time we may get a sense of how the complete team, barring injuries, is coming together and can perform against top competition.
The top 5 remain the same with Argentina, Spain, France, England, and then Brazil. Portugal traded places with the Netherlands, moving up to sixth while the Dutch moved down to seventh. Belgium remains in the eighth spot, while Germany and Croatia move up one to round off the top 10.
In CONCACAF, only Mexico tops the USA in 13th place. They jumped an astounding four places.
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