OT : USA soccer FIFA rankings ?

[Icculus]

How many of these teams made it to the knock-out rounds of the last 2 World Cups like the U.S.? Those results speak way more loudly than subjective opinions.

Perhaps based only on pure skill, the U.S. is not a Top-25 side (maybe). But, skill, while probably the most important, is one of many attributes that determine how good a team is (athleticism, conditioning, team cohesiveness, etc). There have been some amazingly skilled Ivy league teams in the NCAA tournaments of the past few years. How far have they gotten?

The US is so far behind the rest of the world don't be a delusional American soccer fan that thinks because the US is so outwardly successful in other sports that we are "close" in soccer. We simply arent. Theres a reason why the MLS is where Europeans go to retire i.e. Lampard, Villa, Kaka, Gerrard. The United States doesn't have the infrastructure to develop talent like Europe does. Are you familiar with the Soccer Academy structure? What these kids do at just age 8 is so far advanced from what we do in the states. So to answer your question can I think of 25 teams better than the US? Easily:

All of these teams are no question better than us:
Argentina
Germany
Belgium
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Brazil
Columbia
Portugal
England
Italy
France
Spain
Uruguay
Denmark
Belgium
Sweden
Wales

All of these teams slightly better:
Chile
Croatia
Ghana
Russia
Hungary
Austria

You can make an argument still for:
Ecuador
Mexico
Cameroon
Greece
Ivory Coast

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

The US is so far behind the rest of the world don't be a delusional American soccer fan that thinks because the US is so outwardly successful in other sports that we are "close" in soccer. We simply arent. Theres a reason why the MLS is where Europeans go to retire i.e. Lampard, Villa, Kaka, Gerrard. The United States doesn't have the infrastructure to develop talent like Europe does. Are you familiar with the Soccer Academy structure? What these kids do at just age 8 is so far advanced from what we do in the states. So to answer your question can I think of 25 teams better than the US? Easily

I'm not a delusional soccer fan who tunes in once every four years. I watch the Premiership and Champions League all the time and I know what good soccer teams look like. But the idea that you can equate the strength of MLS to the strength of national soccer is totally incorrect. By that measure, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, etc. are all terrible nations because their domestic leagues are no good. The truth is, most great soccer players are gonna go play in Europe no matter where they're from. Heck, the MLS is in better shape than Brazil's domestic league -- at least MLS is solvent and able to buy former great players.

Yes, many nations are much better than us, including virtually all of the South American and European countries. But I think you're looking past the very deep flaws of these so-called better countries. Look at England. On paper, a MUCH better team. And yet, each World Cup they seem to play worse somehow.

Nor am I buying that Russia, Croatia, and Austria are even slightly better than us. Denmark is so much better than us? How so? Cause they beat us 2-1 in a home friendly? Psht. They're not Italy or France. I don't see it.

Reasonable minds may disagree, but I don't think we're nearly as bad as you imagine.

 

[Suminod]

Anyone hear some fan yell the the 'Uconn!......Huskies!!!' chant last night? Heard it clear as day around the 54-56th min

 

[CallMeBruce]

LOL @ Wales being a better side than the US. They haven't made a World Cup in like 60 years, and don't give me this 'UEFA is so hard' crap, not when Slovenia has made it through two of the last four times. The US generally makes it out of group at the WC, which is the only reasonable way to evaluate countries in different confederations. As such, they're probably between the 15th and 20th strongest side.

 

[Brochacho]

Anyone hear some fan yell the the 'Uconn!.Huskies!!!' chant last night? Heard it clear as day around the 54-56th min

The " you piece of " after the Haiti guy flopped was the best sound byte of the night, imo.

 

[Tommyboy]

The " you piece of " after the Haiti guy flopped was the best sound byte of the night, imo.

That was great. Clear as day.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

The US is so far behind the rest of the world don't be a delusional American soccer fan that thinks because the US is so outwardly successful in other sports that we are "close" in soccer. We simply arent. Theres a reason why the MLS is where Europeans go to retire i.e. Lampard, Villa, Kaka, Gerrard. The United States doesn't have the infrastructure to develop talent like Europe does. Are you familiar with the Soccer Academy structure? What these kids do at just age 8 is so far advanced from what we do in the states. So to answer your question can I think of 25 teams better than the US? Easily:

All of these teams are no question better than us:
Argentina
Germany
Belgium
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Brazil
Columbia
Portugal
England
Italy
France
Spain
Uruguay
Denmark
Belgium
Sweden
Wales

All of these teams slightly better:
Chile
Croatia
Ghana
Russia
Hungary
Austria

You can make an argument still for:
Ecuador
Mexico
Cameroon
Greece
Ivory Coast

We are better than every team in that mexico tier. Better than Ghana and Hungary and can make a case for teams like Denmark, Wales, Sweden, Russia, Austria and Czech Republic

 

[ucjoet]

Did you watch Wales-Belgium qualifier this week? No chance we are better than Wales.

I have not seen Wales play so I have no idea how good they are. Just saying the fifa rankings are incredibly flawed. From my calculations if Wales had played 6 friendly's in the last year, with a record of 3 wins, 1 loss and 2 draws ( vs top 50 teams), there ranking would have dropped from currently 10th to 25th.

So only losing 1 game of 6 friendly's, would drop them 15 spots in World ranking. So is Wales really the 10th best team in world, or are they smartest in scheduling to manipulate the rankings. Not saying they are purposely doing anything wrong. Just that the fifa caculation system needs an overhaul

 

[Leebo]

Any ranking system is time-based and when results fall off the back end they can take you down quite a bit even if your recent results are good.

 

[Husky]

Friendly match victories mean nothing. And Wales is better than the USA

 

[UConn Esq]

Friendly match victories mean nothing. And Wales is better than the USA

Finally.

 

[CallMeBruce]

It's really easy to demean the US by saying that none of the their competitive matches have any value because they're against CONCACAF teams, and none of their UEFA victories matter because they're friendlies. I know that it's chic to crap on the USMNT, but if you think that Wales, a country that hasn't made a World Cup since Eisenhower was in office, is better than the US, you're trying too hard.

 

[UConn Esq]

::yawn:: didn't take the USMNT very long to settle this debate.

 

[Phorcys]

::yawn:: didn't take the USMNT very long to settle this debate.

The world is full of s, but the worst are those who gloat over losses.

 

[Brochacho]

The world is full of s, but the worst are those who gloat over losses.

I'm not going to be a jerk about it like others, but this team has some issues to address:
1. Beckerman sucks.
2. Bedoya has bipolar first touches.
3. The back 4 was incompetent the first 19 minutes of the second half.
4. More timely subs. I was yelling for Yedlin late in the first half; Jamaica had a clear speed advantage on the U.S., he need more that 10(?) minutes of time.
5. Beckerman sucks.

Overall, this isn't that big of a loss. Still have the one game playoff in October, and the team will be much better offensively with the eventual additions of Jozy and Julian Green.

 

[Husky25]

...the team will be much better offensively with the eventual additions of Jozy and Julian Green.

Hamstringcheese has not scored a meaningful goal in what seems like 5 years. I'm starting to doubt what Altidore can bring to the table.

 

[UConn990411]

I'm not going to be a jerk about it like others, but this team has some issues to address:
1. Beckerman sucks.
2. Bedoya has bipolar first touches.
3. The back 4 was incompetent the first 19 minutes of the second half.
4. More timely subs. I was yelling for Yedlin late in the first half; Jamaica had a clear speed advantage on the U.S., he need more that 10(?) minutes of time.
5. Beckerman sucks.

Overall, this isn't that big of a loss. Still have the one game playoff in October, and the team will be much better offensively with the eventual additions of Jozy and Julian Green.

Beckerman and Bradley make the U.S. extremely weak in the middle.

I know a lot of people love Bradley, but he's honestly regressed over the years. His turnover percentage is way too high for a center mid, especially one who isn't a spectacular playmaker.

He needs to be better than what he showed this tourney.

 

[Brochacho]

Beckerman and Bradley make the U.S. extremely weak in the middle.

I know a lot of people love Bradley, but he's honestly regressed over the years. His turnover percentage is way too high for a center mid, especially one who isn't a spectacular playmaker.

He needs to be better than what he showed this tourney.

I don't think Bradley has necessarily regressed, he just doesn't have that extra gear. How many times has he been chased down while trying to dribble up the field and then lost possession? Other teams just have mids who are much faster. Didn't help that Zardes was sleeping the whole cap.
Could have been biased or not focusing enough on the other players, but it looked like Johannson and Bradley were the only players playing with any sense of urgency. That first half was the best I've seen Johannson in a while.

@Husky25 I don't necessarily disagree with what you said about Altidore, guess I still have hope for him; getting Julian Green back in the fold would obviously be more important for the USMNT in my opinion.

 

[UConn990411]

I don't think Bradley has necessarily regressed, he just doesn't have that extra gear. How many times has he been chased down while trying to dribble up the field and then lost possession? Other teams just have mids who are much faster. Didn't help that Zardes was sleeping the whole cap.
Could have been biased or not focusing enough on the other players, but it looked like Johannson and Bradley were the only players playing with any sense of urgency. That first half was the best I've seen Johannson in a while.

@Husky25 I don't necessarily disagree with what you said about Altidore, guess I still have hope for him; getting Julian Green back in the fold would obviously be more important for the USMNT in my opinion.

A slow center midfielder isn't a new phenomenon. Most of those guys adjust, though, and develop a sense of awareness that prevents them from giving the ball away as much as Bradley does.

Honestly, he was better when he was younger since he never tried to do more than he was capable. Let's hope the U.S. has upgraded that position the next time the World Cup comes around.

 

[SubbaBub]

The US is so far behind the rest of the world don't be a delusional American soccer fan that thinks because the US is so outwardly successful in other sports that we are "close" in soccer. We simply arent. Theres a reason why the MLS is where Europeans go to retire i.e. Lampard, Villa, Kaka, Gerrard. The United States doesn't have the infrastructure to develop talent like Europe does. Are you familiar with the Soccer Academy structure? What these kids do at just age 8 is so far advanced from what we do in the states. So to answer your question can I think of 25 teams better than the US? Easily:

All of these teams are no question better than us:
Argentina Y
Germany Y
Belgium Y
Czech Republic N
Netherlands N
Brazil Y
Columbia N
Portugal N
England N
Italy Y
France N
Spain Y
Uruguay Y
Denmark N
Belgium N - since you listed twice and we are about even with them
Sweden N
Wales Heck N

All of these teams slightly better:
Chile Y
Croatia depends where the match is played on a neutral field- N
Ghana - Even though I think we are better now and they are worse
Russia N
Hungary N
Austria N

You can make an argument still for:
Ecuador N
Mexico N, not for a while now.
Cameroon N
Greece N
Ivory Coast N

The US has proven to be a top 15-20 team over the last decade in major competitions. It's a group of death because we are in it.

 

[SubbaBub]

A slow center midfielder isn't a new phenomenon. Most of those guys adjust, though, and develop a sense of awareness that prevents them from giving the ball away as much as Bradley does.

Honestly, he was better when he was younger since he never tried to do more than he was capable. Let's hope the U.S. has upgraded that position the next time the World Cup comes around.

Bradley is out best all around player with arguably the toughest job and the least support. Any other opinion is ill informed. We need him to be good to win, but if we lose it isn't always his fault. The order of blame list for yesterday goes like this.

Guzan for giving up the free kick
Jurgen - for some rather glaring errors
Brooks - in for aerial defense and got beat
Dempsey - too many wasted touches
Zardes - did not control his side
Beckerman - consistent uselessness
Johansson - for missing a 6 foot header.

Everyone else met the call including Evans and the three subs for the time they were in. Even Alvarado had one of his better games.

 

[UConn990411]

Bradley is out best all around player with arguably the toughest job and the least support. Any other opinion is ill informed.

Lol, no.

I also love comments like this. "If your opinion is different than mine, then clearly your opinion is ill informed. There's no other option here."

 

[UConn Esq]

The world is full of s, but the worst are those who gloat over losses.

Spoken like a true a*hole.

 

[Jaker]

Hamstringcheese has not scored a meaningful goal in what seems like 5 years. I'm starting to doubt what Altidore can bring to the table.

I doubt Altidore plays for us again.

 

[SubbaBub]

Lol, no.

I also love comments like this. "If your opinion is different than mine, then clearly your opinion is ill informed. There's no other option here."

So who is the best all around player in the US pool right now? Here's a hint, it's not Dempsey just because he scores goals